University of California • Berkeley
Wanda Sankary
FROM SOD HOUSE TO STATE HOUSE
Regional Oral History Office
The Bancroft Library
J
Wanda Sankary
2nd Campaign, 1956
Regional Oral History Office University of California
The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California
Women in Politics Oral History Project
Wanda Sankary
FROM SOD HOUSE TO STATE HOUSE
With Introductions by
Michael Hallahan
Sheridan Hegland
Morris Sankary
Walter S.J. Swanson
An Interview Conducted by
Malca Chall
in 1977
Underwritten by a research grant from
the Research Collection Program of the
National Endowment for the Humanities.
Copy no.
Copyright (c~) 1979 by the Regents of the University of California
TABLE OF CONTENTS — Wanda Sankary
PREFACE 1
INTRODUCTIONS by
Michael Hallahan v
Sheridan Hegland ix
Morris Sankary x
Walter S.J. Swanson xii
INTERVIEW HISTORY xiv
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY xvi
I FAMILY BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION 1
[Interview 1, January 12, 1977; Tape 1, side A] 1
First Years on the Homestead Farm in North Dakota 1
The Moves to Scranton, N.D. and then to San Diego, California 11
[Tape 1, side B] 13
San Diego: Jobs, Schools, and Illness, 1930-1942 15
Time Out to Recuperate from Tuberculosis 20
World War II Widow: Trauma and Recovery 23
Law School, 1945-1950 25
[Tape 2, side A] 26
Establishing a Legal Practice 29
II THE NEW CHALLENGES: POLITICS AND MOTHERHOOD * 32
Winning Candidate for California Assembly, 1954 32
[Tape 2, side B] 40
Weekends at Home with the Babies 41
Losing Candidate for California Assembly, 1956 43
Dedicated Mother 45
III EXPERIENCES AS A LEGISLATOR, 1954-1956 53
[Interview 2, December 12, 1977; Tape 3, side A] 53
First Days : The Heated Campaign for Assembly Speaker 53
Making Decisions: Favors and Pressures 57
Socializing 62
Lobbying and Lobbyists 64
[Tape 3, side B] ' 64
The Committees and the Committee Process 69
[Tape 4, side A] 74
A Legislator's Typical Day 77
Consideration of Issues and Bills 78
[Tape 4, side B] 82
Evaluating Politics 83
Women in Politics 83
The First Campaign Reviewed: Illness, Pregnancy, and Law
Practice
The Conflict Between Home and Career 87
Politics and Democracy 89
The Devastating Reelection Campaign, 1956 89
IV ADDITIONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EXPERIENCES IN THE LEGISLATURE:
ISSUES AND BILLS 94
[Tape 5, side A] 94
Insurance 94
Welfare 95
The Judiciary 95
The Seawater Conversion Plant 97
Other Issues and Bills 98
[Tape 5, side B] 99
Legislation Related to Women 100
Concern for the "Little People" 102
The Women in the Legislature 102
A Brief Summary of the Legislative Experience 104
AFTERWORD 105
INDEX 107
PREFACE
The following interview is one of a series of tape-recorded memoirs in the
California Women Political Leaders Oral History Project. The series has been
designed to study the political activities of a representative group of California
women who became active in politics during the years between the passage of the
woman's suffrage amendment and the current feminist movement — roughly the years
between 1920 and 1965. They represent a variety of views: conservative,
moderate, liberal, and radical, although most of them worked within the Demo
cratic and Republican parties. They include elected and appointed officials at
national, state, and local governmental levels. For many the route to leadership
was through the political party — primarily those divisions of the party reserved
for women.
Regardless of the ultimate political level attained, these women have all
worked in election campaigns on behalf of issues and candidates. They have
raised funds, addressed envelopes, rung doorbells, watched polls, staffed offices,
given speeches, planned media coverage, and when permitted, helped set policy.
While they enjoyed many successes, a few also experienced defeat as candidates
for public office.
Their different family and cultural backgrounds, their social attitudes, and
their personalities indicate clearly that there is no typical woman political
leader; their candid, first-hand observations and their insights about their
experiences provide fresh source material for the social and political history
of women in the past half century.
In a broader framework their memoirs provide valuable insights into the
political process as a whole. The memoirists have thoughtfully discussed
details of party organization and the work of the men and women who served the
party. They have analysed the process of selecting party leaders and candidates,
running campaigns, raising funds, and drafting party platforms, as well as the
more subtle aspects of political life such as maintaining harmony and coping with
fatigue, frustration, and defeat. Perceived through it all are the pleasures of
friendships, struggles, and triumphs in a common cause.
•She California Women Political Leaders Oral History Project has been financed
by both an outright and a matching grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities. Matching funds were provided by the Rockefeller Foundation for the
Helen Gahagan Douglas unit of the project, by the Columbia Foundation, and by
individuals who were interested in supporting memoirs of their friends and
colleagues. In addition, funds from the California State Legislature-sponsored
Knight-Brown Era Public Affairs Project made it possible to increase the research
and broaden the scope of the interviews in which there was a meshing of the
woman's political career with the topics being studied in the Knight-Brown project.
Professors Judith Blake Davis, Albert Lepawsky, and Walton Bean served as principal
investigators during the period July 1975-December 1977 that the project was
ii
underway. This series is the second phase of the Women in Politics Oral History
Project, the first of which dealt with the experiences of eleven women who had
been leaders and rank-and-f ile workers in the suffrage movement.
The Regional Oral History Office was established to tape record autobio
graphical interviews with persons significant in the history of the West and the
nation. The Office is under the administrative supervision of James D. Hart,
Director of The Bancroft Library. Interviews were conducted by Amelia R. Fry,
Miriam Ste'in, Gabrielle Morris, Malca Chall, Fern Ingersoll, and Ingrid Scobie.
Malca Chall, Project Director
Women in Politics Oral History Project
Willa Baum, Department Head
Regional Oral History Office
17 April 1979
Regional Oral History Office
486 The Bancroft Library
University of California at Berkeley
iii
CALIFORNIA WOMEN POLITICAL LEADERS ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
March Fong Eu, High Achieving Nonconformist in Local and State Government. 1977
Jean Wood Fuller, Organizing Women: Careers in Volunteer Politics and Government
Administration. 1977
Elizabeth R. Gatov, Grassroots Party Organizer to United States Treasurer. 1977
Bernice Hubbard May, A Native Daughter's Leadership in Public Affairs. 1976
Hulda Hoover McLean, A Conservative Crusader for Good Government. 1977
Julia Porter, Dedicated Democrat and City Planner. 1977
Wanda Sankary, From Sod House to State House. 1979
Vera Schultz, [Jarin County Perspective on Ideals and Realities in State and Local
Government. 1977
Clara Shirpser, One Woman's Eole in Democratic Party Politics. 1975
Elizabeth Snyder, California's First Woman State Party Chairman. 1977
Eleanor Wagner, Independent Political Coalitions: Electoral, Legislative, and
Community. 1977
Carolyn Wolfe, Educating for Citizenship: A Career in Community Affairs and the
Democratic Party, 1906-1976. 1978
Interviews in Process
Frances Albrier
Marjorie Benedict
Odessa Cox
Pauline Davis
Ann Eliaser
Kimiko Fujii
Elinor R. Heller
Patricia R. Hitt
Lucile Hosmer
La Rue McConnick
Emily Pike
Zita Remley
Hope Mendoza Schechter
Carmen Wars chaw
Rosalind Wyman
Mildred Younger
April 1979
iv
Helen Gahagan Douglas Unit*
Interviews in Process
Helen Gahagan Douglas
Juanita Barbee
Rachel Bell
Fay Bennett
Albert Cahn
Margery Cahn
Evelyn Chavoor
Alls De Sola
Tilford Dudley
India Edwards
Walter Gahagan
Arthur Goldschmidt
Elizabeth Goldschmidt
Leo Goodman
Kenneth Harding
Charles Hog an
Chet Holifield
Mary Keyserling
Judge Byron Lindsley
Helen Lustig
Alvin Meyers
William Malone
Philip Noel-Baker
Cornelia Palms
Walter Pick
Frank Rogers
Lucy Kramer Cohen
The researcher is directed also to interviews in the Earl Warren Era Oral
History Project and the Knight-Brown Era Public Affairs Project for
additional material on California political history.
*The Helen Gahagan Douglas unit was designed to complete one long biographical
memoir with Mrs. Douglas and short interviews with persons who had worked with
her in the theatre, in her campaigns, and in Congress.
May 1978
INTRODUCTION by Michael Hallahan
There have been two periods in both our lives when Wanda Sankary and I
have been very close friends: the first was during our college years and the
second, many years later. My earliest recollection of Wanda was of a pretty,
dark-haired, rather shy and serious high school girl who grew up as I did
in a quiet, middle class community of East San Diego. I did not know her well
till later when we were both in college, but well enough to know she was an
honor student, a good daughter and a member of the same church as I was.
After high school we both initially went to our small home- town college,
now San Diego State University, where we became friends and occasionally
dated. Then World War II intervened in our lives and curiously resulted in
a deeper but totally platonic friendship between us, the beginning of which
I remember very vividly. I had returned to San Diego on leave, a young army
captain eager to see old friends, but my visit, I knew, coincided with Wanda's
tragic early widowhood. She had written me that she had married a navy pilot,
a boy she had known since childhood, and later, that he had been killed in
action. We went out together several times, but talk was always serious as
she felt a strong loyalty to her husband which I would not transgress.
For some months afterwards we exchanged a few letters, mostly about our
ideas and plans and, in her case, also about her studies and new goals — always
interlaced with almost poetic descriptions of people, places and natural scenes
that had affected her. Her letters then and ever since have been exciting to
read and evocative of her personality — and, I might add, I still have a few
of them.
The next time I saw Wanda, near the end of the war, I was again on my
way home on leave, and passing through Los Angeles I stopped to visit her,
now living alone in a small apartment while going to Law School at the Univer
sity of Southern California. She was living an almost ascetic life, studying
for exams, with books and papers everywhere, and pouring all her energies
into attempting to graduate as soon as possible. Today whenever I think of
Wanda during those early years I remember that visit, for she set aside her
vi
studies and we talked openly and earnestly for hours about all the things
most important to us; and then as later I was struck by the wonderful
blend of self-discipline and joyousness in her character.
For an interval of many years we had little contact, though I followed
her career with interest through mutual friends and the media. When some
six years ago we met again by chance, both browsing in a downtown bookstore,
I knew her instantly — she was so little changed in appearance or demeanor — and
since then, although we have both married and followed our respective careers,
it was as though nothing had changed. Luckily for me, my wife Peg feels as I
do that Wanda is someone special, one of those few friends who add extra
dimension to our lives.
I feel, therefore, rather uniquely qualified to attempt to draw a
portrait of Wanda as I know her and to explain why she has accomplished what
she has and why she is such an exciting personality to her many friends. In
the first place she is a presence in any gathering. She is of course attrac
tive, most of all for the warm, direct gaze of her large, brown eyes and her
vide flashing smile, but her real attraction to others lies in her personal
magnetism. Her boundless and infectious zest for life is instantly felt,
and there is an aura of excitement about her even when she's engaged in the
simplest most routine activities. Her conversation is always enlivened by
her constant exploration of new experiences and ideas. She has never stopped
learning and growing and, for example, has just in the past few years taken
classes in piano, physiology of the brain, auto mechanics, speed reading,
ballroom dancing, transcendental meditation and doubtless a few others I'm
unaware of. One could call her a dilettante in the best sense of the word,
for she is a genuine enthusiast of art, of opera, of theatre, of sports,
of politics, of psychology, of ESP research or in fact of anything she deems
worthwhile. She thinks nothing of driving hundreds of miles to see a play
or exhibit, but at the same time she considers time precious — too precious
to waste on anything mediocre or purely frivolous — and so she is very selec
tive about what she spends her time on. Her friends are the beneficiaries
of her discrimination, since she is an encyclopedia of information on the best
of everything from restaurants and shows to galleries and politicians.
In looking back, it seems to me that this selectivity has been one of
the important secrets of her personal life. She has always had a pragmatic,
analytical intellect which has enabled her to make choices — choices of
experiences, of friends, of courses of action — which have preserved the
integrity of her life. She was an unconscious "woman's libber" long before
the term was heard of, in the sense that she was always more influenced by
her own drive for self-fulfillment than by others' expectations of her.
Yet she was, and is, a curious mixture of personal self-assertion and a strong
conventional sense of propriety. Her manner — a cautious diffidence overlaying
a strong pervasive self-confidence — is genuine.
After experimenting with other careers, she entered law, heedless of its
difficulties or its barriers against women because it best suited her talents—
her logical mind, her verbal fluency and capacity for hard work — and because
she believed it offered her opportunities to carry out her ideas of social
justice.
vil
For all her self-reliance, she is a romantic, an optimist and a perennial
champion of the unfortunate. She was, and is, a liberal in the original
sense of the word, and though she scorns passivity in willing victims, she
is indignant at abuses of power or miscarriages of justice and an implacable
enemy of those who knowingly do injury to others. I know that what she
cherished most in the many years of her joint law practice with her husband
were their triumphs over political chicanery and power plays by special
interests. I remember one time when she and I and my wife were driving home
from a quick trip to San Francisco, she talked for hours with obvious pride
and pleasure about some of these cases, and I was deeply touched by her great
admiration for her husband and by her uncompromising sense of justice.
In the later years of the Sankary & Sankary law firm, it often fell to
Wanda to handle some of the small philanthropic cases, several of which I
have some personal knowledge of. One involved my son who had phoned us from
jail in Orange County where he was being held on charges of car theft (it was
a case of mistaken identity, and he was driving his own car, it was later
established). After doing what she could by phone, Wanda cancelled her day's
calendar, rose very early the next morning, drove ninety miles to the jail,
and slept on a wooden bench in the courtroom antechamber so she would be able
to act as early as possible in my son's behalf. This is the kind of thing
one doesn't forget.
Of Wanda's political career I know only what she's told me, but I know,
too, that although since leaving the legislature she has never sought another
office, she has nevertheless remained an activist at heart; she has kept her
self well-informed and has often exerted pressure from behind the scenes at
both local and state levels to right a wrong or influence legislation she
believes important. She doesn't hesitate to raise her voice or underwrite
causes or candidates she feels strongly about, from supporting a position of
the Coastal Commission to relocation of a school crossing. And she exhorts
others to act on what they believe, to write letters or to carry placards
whether or not she agrees with them.
As has previously been suggested, of all Wanda's enthusiasms, her interest
in people is the most pervasive in her life. Her friends are as various as
her activities and include young and old, the famous and the humble, and they
cut across all social and economic levels, but one thing they all have in
common: they are accomplished. Wanda is utterly without social pretensions
or snobbishness, but she is impatient with ignorance or mediocrity at any
level; she deeply admires and is attracted to anyone who is creative, vital,
talented, actively engaged with life. While she never loses her supportive
compassion for the unfortunates of life, she chooses friends for mutual
enrichment, and she gives as much as she takes. She is one of those rare
people who always remembers names and never forgets a birthday, an anniver
sary or special day of those whose friendship she values. I have so often
had an unexpected lift in spirits when I have found her card with a small
thoughtful gift and the inevitable bouquet from her own garden waiting for me
in the entry of my home on some day of special importance to me.
viil
Despite her sentimentality, she is not provincial, nor is she easily
deceived. She has a penetrating, intuitive understanding of people and an
uncanny perception of motivations, coalitions and obscure maneuvering in
social and political affairs. And although she is a woman of strong convic
tions, she respects integrity, conscientiousness, and honest points of view.
That is why she is able to understand and defend certain public figures who
stand accused of illegalities in the pursuit of ends they believe are right
and fair.
It is not surprising, in the final analysis, that Wanda has changed so
little over the years. Doubtless she is more sophisticated and more confident,
and her intellect more finely honed, than when she was a girl. Yet she is
still open to new ideas, still idealistic, still a believer in human nature,
still romantic and even a touch naive. The qualities she possessed as a girl,
which predetermined that her life would be something out of the ordinary, are
the same qualities which have crystallized in her maturity — a tremendous
energy and self-discipline and an implacable drive to learn, to do, to experience
all that life offers. She has lost none of her youthful values over the years
and I feel quite certain she never will.
Michael Hallahan
26 April, 1978
San Diego, California
ix
INTRODUCTION by Sheridan Hegland
Wanda Sankary brought a fresh feminine viewpoint to the California
State Assembly during her tenure 1955-57, and the Legislature is better for
it.
Personally I am most grateful to her because she worked enthusiastically
for two of my bills. One, the State Scholarship Act substantially copied by
the legislatures of thirty-three other states, attested to her interest in helping
gifted youth, otherwise unable financially, to attend the California college
or university of their choice. By now (September, 1978) more than 100,000
have had that choice.
The second measure was closer to home, bringing to San Diego a branch
of the University of California. The towering institution at La Jolla
stands as the realization of that dream.
Her help may well have been critical in the passage of these measures.
Other legislators no doubt are in their own debt to Wanda, who proved
effective and diligent in her committee assignments. Her warmth and charm
helped pave the way for good legislation.
The high regard her fellow legislators place in her is indicated by
her election as a member of the Board of the Association of Retired Legislators.
Sheridan Hegland
Member, California Assembly
1955-1961
15 September, 1978
San Diego, California
INTRODUCTION by Morris Sankary
It's been almost thirty years ago that I first laid eyes on Wanda. I
remember sitting down in the income tax class and Wanda came in and sat down
beside me. I didn't know it then, but we were destined to meet, to go through
law school together, to get married, and to practice together.
Wanda is a very dynamic person; what she wanted to accomplish, she
usually did. Once she set her mind to something, there was nothing that
could stop her.
And if Wanda felt that she was right, there was no one who could argue
her out of her position. It was this characteristic that made Wanda a fighter
and champion for the rights of the underdog, the underprivileged and the
oppressed. Not only in the practice of law, but when she was in the Legisla
ture, fighting for the rights of people and the causes that she believed in.
I remember how hard we worked studying to get through law school and
how hard we worked studying to pass the Bar. Although these were difficult
years in terms of work and stress, they were also enjoyable years, because
never again would we be free from the pressures that automatically flow from
the practice of law.
After we graduated, Wanda was the first person in our class to have a
case of her own. I remember it was a case involving a "speed contest" and
she asked me to help her find the law on the matter to argue the case to the
court.
I went to the law library and got a copy of what I thought was the
latest code section applicable, I handed it to Wanda and we went over it
together. At that time the code section made a "speed contest" a misdemeanor.
Little did I know that I had handed Wanda a code that somebody had very
carefully marked over; it changed the "1947" to make it appear "1949", leading
one to believe it was the latest code on the subject matter.
xi
Unfortunately the law had been changed in 1949 making a "speed contest"
a felony. When she walked into the courtroom, she did not know that her
18-year-old client, the only son of the law librarian who entrusted him to
her, could have been sent to jail on a felony plus a huge fine.
As any lawyer will understand what the feelings are on his first day
of court appearance after years of preparation for this big day and what
apprehension really is, he will appreciate what ensued.
Tne case was called. Wanda stood up and, apparently with confidence,
answered "Wanda Young, ready for the defendant."
Shortly thereafter, the fireworks began. Wanda, believing that she had
the correct law before her, told the judge that he was wrong on the law and
even argued with him about the law, when the judge asked to see the Code that
Wanda was reading from to compare it with his own copy. At this point the
error was discovered.
During the many cases we tried together as co-counsel, I remember pulling
on Wanda's skirt to stop her arguing with the judge, but to no avail. She
never would give up. Fortunately, most judges were understanding gentlemen
and neither she nor her clients were ever penalized for it. In fact, some
times new law was made. We had fun.
During the entire time that Wanda and I practiced together, Wanda would
really fight for her client, always being careful that she was honest and
correct on the law and facts.
Little did we know when she accepted the invitation to run for public
office that she was pregnant. Having accepted the challenge, nothing would
stop her from giving her all to the task of winning. It was nip and tuck at
the election but when the final results were tallied she had not only won the
election, but had given birth to our son Timothy.
In the next election the monied interests pulled out all stops to defeat
her but many citizens regretted her loss to the legislature and to the state.
Our married life together was interesting and active; professionally it
was stressful but we enjoyed it. Life was never dull for a moment. And the
years sped by. Wanda was a devoted mother, wife, and law partner, always
willing to be helpful, hard working and loyal.
It was a bad business investment that wiped out our life savings — a half
million dollars, forcing us to start over, at middle age, that finally did us
in. We each nearly broke physically under the strain of running a modular
construction company that couldn't survive in the 1970 crash in the housing
industry. We didn't break; our union did.
But, despite everything, Wanda will leave her mark on California, and,
I feel , on everyone who knows and loves her .
Morris Sankary
October 1978
San Diego, California
xii
INTRODUCTION by Walter S.J. Swanson
With anyone, it is difficult to separate the person you first met, or
heard of, from the person you later came to know, and it is especially
true — for me — of Wanda Sankary. I was in my first year in San Diego, a
transplanted Washington, D.C., newspaperman, that 1954 autumn when Wanda
Sankary, week in, week out, was going door-to-door, pregnant not just with
baby but with spunk, to get herself elected as a Democrat-in-name-only to a
seat that was being vacated by a woman Republican- in-f act.
I was aware, as a newcomer, that her husband's name-familiarity as a
U.S. attorney was helpful to her in front-door explanations of who she was.
She probably told housewives — there still were housewives then — how she and
her husband had gone to law school together and passed the same state bar
exam, and that even if he was first in his class she was right up there in
top rank too. I don't think there were paper diapers then but had there been,
she and the lady answering the door might have discussed the merits of Pampers
just like on television (except TV itself was then still a baby and hadn't
grown up to such estate.)
I've forgotten where Wanda and I finally met, except when we did I
was her natural enemy. That was because I by then held an executive position
with the Copley Newspapers in San Diego and she felt herself badly treated by
them. After turning down someone's suggestion that she switch to GOP registra
tion for reelection, she got what she felt was dastardly press treatment by
the Republican San Diego Union and the Evening Tribune.
I do not know the rights and wrongs of that but I do know that the
Republican Party, always formidable in San Diego, wanted badly to recapture
what was previously a "safe" seat. Had a woman Democrat ever won reelection
to it, she would have become extremely difficult ever to oust again. I knew
this political wisdom from my Michigan boyhood when my father, a novice in
politics, but hunting a Depression meal-ticket for his family, tried despite
all advice to run against a veteran woman city clerk in Lansing. He was
snowed under, as Wanda probably would have snowed any opponent under had she
won her first campaign for reelection.
xiii
What Wanda and I both remember, about meeting, was that at someone's
Christmas party at least a decade later we became embroiled in an argument
so sincere and loud the hostess grew very nervous. Wanda, back to being
a good attorney by then with lots of women clients, had very strong convictions
about the generally shabby treatment women got within our system of rights or
privileges. California's new "no fault" divorce law was still in the news; she
feared it was going to further ruin some women's chances of a fairer deal in
life. I, on the other hand, in this instant-debate, defended the concept that
men must not be ruined financially, and forced to flee the state, or forever
go penniless, by a law that so far was saying "Tilt!" whenever a woman wanted
to take revenge for what was often a mutual mistake. But I could see, even
through the smoke of battle, that Wanda was never going to strike her colors,
and so after a while we settled down to quieter voices and I then discovered
the generous, attractive woman of great principle that the voters had somehow
not gotten to know well enough, else she would have been like the Lansing city
clerk — unbeatable, for the voters (once they know) will almost always vote for
honesty and guts.
My wife and I have been to Sankary holiday open-houses since, out by
San Diego State in what is still called the College area even though the
college has become a giant university. The first time Morris was still out
in the kitchen of the handsome old English Tudor house cheerfully whistling
and keeping the dishes moving — he liked such duties. Later we've been to one
when Wanda had begun to live there on her own. (The Sankarys — he has remarried-
still have law offices together, and are friendly.) What struck both my wife
and me was how many different "kinds" of friends Wanda has — even without Morris
there. They ran from the very young to the very old; they came from all sorts
of homes and jobs. The big, friendly house was jammed with them — but I don't
think there was one person among them who wouldn't have been worth luring off
into a corner to find out more about that person's feelings or life.
I am a writer — not a newspaper kind anymore but one with a novelist's
kind of curiosity — and I think Wanda's would be a life that would tell a lot
about women in our century. She is a lawmaker who scorned the nuts-and-bolts
politics, perhaps to her regret, but was firm for principle and shocked at all
the legislative rape of it. She is a mother to whom her sons — one adopted at
the same time the other was born — seem to have a fantastic allegiance, not
based at all on duty or custom but perhaps on admiration of a great, good
gallantry. My thought is that we must not look back on Wanda as a "pioneer"
among California women political leaders, but instead look to her as a
valuable symbol of how a free-feeling woman can refuse to trade upon her sex
and make her record in life anyhow — and still wind up top ranked again.
Walter S.J. Swanson
3 April, 1978
La Jolla, California
[Mr. Swanson is author of the novel The Happening, (A.S. Barnes) and of a
prize-winning play.]
XIV
INTERVIEW HISTORY
Wanda Sankary, a long-time resident of San Diego, California, won
election to the California assembly in 1954 and served one two-year term.
During the decade of the 1950s a number of women sought places in the
legislature but only four achieved that goal: Pauline Davis (1952-1976),
Dorothy Donahoe (1952-1960), Kathryn Niehouse (1942-1954) and Wanda Sankary
(1954-1956) . For this reason Wanda Sankary was invited to participate in the
California Women Political Leaders Oral History Project.
At the time that we held our first interview session I knew that she
had served in the state legislature, that she was an attorney, and that her
older son had been born on the day after she won her election. The source
for this latter bit of information came from an article "Women in Politics"
by Marion Sanders in Harpers, August, 1955. Long before the consciousness-
raising days of the current women's movement, the author wrote,
"Lesser battle axes take a cautious view on the
question of women in public of f ice. . ..Wanda Sankary
of San Diego produced a baby the day after she
was elected to the state legislature. This was
dramatic, but really quite inconvenient. So is
the whole business of running for office if you
happen to be a woman. We can take it or leave
it alone."
Wanda Sankary and I met on January 12, 1977 in a condominium in
Redondo Beach overlooking the ocean where she was staying for a brief time.
She had obviously been thinking about what we were going to discuss in this
first interview because she had received the outline of questions ahead of
time. With warmth, good humor, and barely discernible patches of wistfulness,
Wanda filled in considerable background about her family, her education, her
experiences in law school, her career as an attorney, and her campaigns for
the state assembly. It was a remarkable story, evoking an inner vitality,
intelligence, and a personality far more complex than those sentences in
Harpers could lead one to imagine.
After two hours of recording, we strolled along the beachfront walk to
a restaurant for lunch, talking about a variety of current topics. Wanda
had many interests and concerns, but it was apparent that she, unlike most
of the women being interviewed in this California Women Political Leaders
project, and despite her term in the assembly, had never been deeply immersed
in politics — she was not "a political animal." Wanda Sankary 's memoir is
thus unique among the twenty-eight in this series.
At parting, we agreed that we would complete the taping at some future
date in San Diego at which time we would concentrate on her term in the
assembly and her subsequent legal career. Before we met again on December 12,
XV
1977, I had read the files on Wanda Sankary in the library of the San Diego
Union and Evening Tribune and noted the variety of legislative issues she
had been concerned with, not the least of which dealt with equal rights for
women.
I sent ahead an outline of questions; Wanda found a box full of clippings,
pictures, and slip bills saved from the period 1954-1956. But she admitted
that she was not prepared for our interview. She was coming down with what
turned out to be a very bad siege of flu, and various pressing personal
matters had been occupying her mind. Despite all this we decided to turn on
the tape recorder and get what information we could. In this way we worked
for nearly two hours in the study of Wanda's large, comfortable, English-style
home. Before we finished and went out to lunch Wanda agreed to record, on her
own, her recollections about specific legislation in which she had had an
interest. She did so in January, 1978.
As her poignant Afterword so well explains, these past several years
have been exceedingly difficult. Thus her review of the edited transcript
and the handling of several other chores required to complete the manuscript
were often delayed. Having learned during our brief contacts, however, that
Wanda was not a quitter, I understood that eventually she would complete the
assignment. She added information during her review which she had forgotten
during the interview; she mailed, frequently, more clippings, pictures, and
slip bills, many of which have been copied and placed in the manuscript where
they are relevant and useful as an aid to research; and she sought out persons
to write the informative introductions.
The look back into the past has been completed. According to her
Afterword Wanda is now ready to move her life in a new direction, an
encouraging up-beat tone on which to end this memoir.
Malca Chall
Interviewer-editor
9 April, 1979
Regional Oral History Office
486 The Bancroft Library
University of California
Berkeley, California
xvi
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY — Wanda Sankary
1919 Born on a farm, south of Scranton, North Dakota
1926-1930 Moved to Scranton; attended elementary school.
1930-1937 Moved to San Diego; attended Woodrow Wilson Junior High School and
Herbert Hoover High School
1937-1939 San Diego State College.
1939-1941 Hospitalized with tuberculosis, San Diego.
1942-1943 University of California, Berkeley.
1942-1943 Married Allen Young; widowed seven months later.
1943-1945 Private investigator, San Diego firm.
1945-1950 Law School, University of California; LLB.
1952 Married Morris Sankary.
1950-1975 Attorney at Law; Sankary and Sankary.
1954-1956 Assembly, California State Legislature.
1957-1978 Homemaker, part-time attorney, world-wide traveler.
I FAMILY BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION
[Interview 1: January 12, 1975]
[begin tape 1, side A]
First Years on the Homestead Farm in North Dakota
Chall: Let's start with your date of birth and place of birth.
Sankary: Well, I was born on a little farm south of Scranton, North Dakota.
My parents had settled there in the early part of the century
at a time when there wasn't a village or a neighbor or a human
being within sixty miles — no roads, nothing but buffaloes and
Indians.
Chall: Is that right? What were they doing, homesteading?
Sankary: Yes, and they built this sod house and I was born in it. I was the
last of six children. There were no doctors or midwives. Even my
father wasn't there because he went away and worked in the coal
mine. My mother was there alone on the prairie.
Chall: What year?
Sankary: That was 1919 on December 22.
Chall: And all the snow and cold air.
Sankary: Yes, oh it was very cold.
Chall: Did your mother ever tell you who attended her?
Sankary: She was always alone with each birth. I recall her saying that
once she saw someone walking across the prairie and she got so
excited she went out and yelled and screamed and waved. He didn't
see her. To see a human being was just so exciting to her. She
was utterly alone.
Chall: If you lived on this large plot of land, was anybody farming it?
Sankary: Yes, she and my dad farmed it, but there weren't any other
settlers. There was nothing for sixty miles: Dickinson was the
little village. And then by the time I was born there were other
farmers and there was this little town of Scranton ten miles away
which had about 200 people.
Chall: If you were born in 1919, they moved in what — ten, twelve years
before that?
Sankary: Yes, I guess so. It was just after 1901 when they came from Poland,
and lived first in Pennsylvania a short time.
Chall: Both of them together?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall As a married couple?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: Let me get their backgrounds then. Starting with your mother —
where in Poland was she born?
Sankary: She came from Poznan. It was a city life, so she knew nothing
about gardening, and farming, and so forth. Neither did my dad.
I guess when they got married, they decided — she urged him. I
know he was reluctant to come, but she had the courage to come to
America and see if they could make a living, because there was just
a lot of poverty and starvation in Poland.
Chall: Was your father from Poznan, too?
Sankary: I think he was.
Chall: What was your mother's name — do you know her maiden name?
Sankary: It was a long name that in Polish is pronounced Buszkiewich.
Chall: And her given name?
Sankary: Katherine. She named me after a Polish queen, Wanda. [Laughter]
Chall: Have you any idea of her birth date? How old was she?
Sankary: Yes, 1884.
Chall: What kind of family did she come from? Were they small-town
merchants or what in Poznan?
Sankary: I don' t know what her dad did. She had a brother that went out
and worked for someone else on a sort of a farm and he hired a lot
of women. She was very young, maybe nine or ten, I think, when she
went out and worked for him in the fields. And did that all through
her teens until she was married. I think, let's see, my father was
several years older than she, about seven years older. He was
twenty-six and she was nineteen when they were married. She talked
him into coming to the United States.
Chall: Did she come from a large family of brothers and sisters?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: What did she do in the fields?
Sankary: Some kind of stooped labor, weeding, doing something in the fields.
Chall: Then she didn't have much of an education?
Sankary: No and at that time Poland was ruled by the Germans. It had been
completely occupied by the Germans. They were not allowed to speak
Polish. So what schooling they got, they had to learn in German
and to speak German in school. Then my father, well I hate to
switch, but he actually served in Kaiser Wilhelm's cavalry. Because
they were forced into this military service. He described his tall,
black plumes for hats or something he wore on his head.
Chall: Well, that was rather a special place that he was put into, then,
if he was in the cavalry. I don't know whether it was considered
a part of the elite corps or not.
Sankary: I don't know either. He was a tall and slim man and very handsome.
[Laughs] I would like to have a picture of that. But anyway by
coming to the States, they avoided World War I.
Chall: They were isolated enough so they weren't affected by World War I?
Sankary: Yes, and somehow he wasn't drafted here. I don't know how that
happened.
So when they first came to the States they went to Pennsylvania.
He worked, I think, in a coal mine there. That was new to him.
Then when they homesteaded shortly thereafter in Dakota, he still
would leave and go and work in a coal mine, come home just rarely.
Because they had to have the money, I guess. They couldn't make it
on that farm, without tools or anything.
Chall: Yes, people who did that were very courageous.
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
She also said the buffalo would rub up against this house and she
was so afraid it would fall down, you know, all these animals around,
I remember as a child seeing an antelope just flying across the
prairie, jumping the fences in the wild.
Your father — did he have some kind of education?
I don't know what their education was, except that they spoke good
German; so they did have that. And they did not speak terribly
grammatical Polish because they weren't allowed to learn Polish
grammar in school. So it's just what they picked up at home.
Therefore I am always a little embarrassed when I try to speak
Polish, which I do, because I know it's not grammatical. And she
taught me how to read and write Polish.
Considering that, then she couldn't have been illiterate,
must have been able to read.
She
No, they weren't illiterate. When I went away to school my father
wrote to me in German. I guess it was all right. I took it to my
German teacher to help me translate.
Did they learn English, except to speak it?
Yes, and even at the time he died — he was only about sixty-nine
I think, when he had the heart attack — he was still in school
studying English. He studied it and learned it. And then she
always wrote in English. It was very bad, really amusing — but she
did it. She insisted on learning to read and write English on that
farm.
What kind of religious background did they have?
Catholic. We were all put through all the catechism. She was
quite devout.
Was she? And your father, too?
Yes.
Was this Roman Catholicism?
Yes.
You were the — did you say the last of six?
Yes.
Who were the others, starting with the oldest? Was that a boy?
Sankary: No, it was a girl, Helen, and she's still living in San Diego.
She married — somehow she met an army man. [Laughs] I don't know
how she could have, out on that farm, but she did. She married
him and then he got out of the army and also did some farming.
Chall: This is World War II?
Sankary: World War I. She was married before I was born. She was gone.
Chall: Oh, really. Had she been born in this country?
Sankary: Yes, just after they arrived. But she married at sixteen. And
then the next one was a boy, Frank. He was very talented musically.
He was really bright. But he never did anything with it. He
should have been an entertainer because he was a comedian, an
entertainer-type .
Chall: What is he doing now?
Sankary: He died of cancer when he was about fifty-five, which was about ten
years ago I guess. He never did anything in the entertainment field,
but he did teach me to tap dance when I was little on the farm. He
left early, too; he went to the city to work.
Chall: City — being what?
Sankary: Oh, he went to Bismarck, and Minneapolis, and Spokane. And the next
one was a girl. She was seven years older than I. Since I was born
about Christmas she just sort of assumed this was something Santa
Claus brought. So she really raised me. She spent ji lot of time
with me and we're very close now. She lives in San Diego. We've
always been just terribly close. I just idolized her. I wore all
her clothes and so forth. Her name is Theo, Theodora. And then
between her and me there was another brother, Roman. Someplace in
there a girl died at three; there was a girl born and she was very
little when she died.
Roman is now out on that farm where we were all born, where I
went to school in that little one-room schoolhouse two miles
away — all eight grades in one room. They just spread out, these
large farms. So he bought that area and he's preserving that little
schoolhouse where we all went. [Laughs]
Chall: And then following Roman?
Sankary: Was me.
Chall: And then you think there might have been a few deaths along the
way?
Sankary: One girl died at three.
Chall: After you?
Sankary: No, it was somewhere before me, but I don't know where.
Chall: I see. So you were always then the youngest?
Sankary: Yes. So the others had to work on the farm, but by the time I came
along — they moved off the farm when I was seven. So I never got
into the farming part very much.
Chall: But you were seven, so you can have some memories of that large
prairie and the struggle.
Sankary: Yes. I was caponizing and killing chickens and pigs, churning
butter in an old wooden churn.
Chall: What was it like? What did your mother have to do as a mother on
that land?
Sankary: Well, she did a lot of gardening. Before my time, at least, she
talked about being in the wagons with the horses drawing the hay and
the grain. She actually worked like a man out in the fields.
My uncle bought my brother, Roman, who was three years older
than I a little Ford Model T coupe for him to go to school in. He
was only eight years old — can you imagine that? Because there
wasn't any traffic out there so they gave him this little coupe to
go to school. He drove it at eight years, can you imagine? From
the time that I was ten I drove our Buick Sedan alone, on errands,
like to bring my sister home for the weekend.
And in the winter when we couldn't drive to school, then we had
a little sleigh with a metal hood over it to keep out the frost
because it got very cold. She warmed large stones in the fire and
she put them in there to keep me warm under all the blankets.
Then the horse would take us to school. When we'd come to these
big snow banks sometimes this thing would roll over and all these
rocks were falling around. [Laughter] It was circular so it
would roll. And we rode a horse to school sometimes. That was
fun. And some of the time we walked through the fields. I was
always afraid of the bulls and the cows out there.
I remember my brother learning to drive the tractor and
plowing, or doing the raking of the soil, you know — drawing the
thing behind the tractor. So I'd go along on this tractor. We were
just children. When he'd have to turn around and go down the next
furrow, then I'd drive the tractor [laughter] and we'd come home
just black with soil.
Sankary: Then I remember a lot of turkeys and pigs and a big windmill that
I never had the courage to climb up. I'd go as high as I could and
then I couldn't go any higher. Then they built larger buildings.
There was a hayloft up high and I'd jump off of the thing onto the
hay. That was, oh that always made tears come to my eyes; it was
so frightening. I don't know if this is boring to you or not.
Chall: No, it's fine because people are now trying to reconstruct what it
was like to live in that era.
Sankary: And all those rattlesnakes out there! And the wind howling every
day. All his life my dad tried to grow trees and he couldn't. He
just kept planting trees all the time, and never would they grow.
I don't know — it's too windy or too dry or something.
And then we'd have so many things ; The Army Worms would come
traveling through. The ground would be just covered with a bug
that destroyed everything. And as you walk on top of this stuff, it
makes this crunchy sound — just miles wide. And frost, and droughts,
and rust on the crops. I remember running through the fields and
pulling mustard and other weeds out of the wheat fields. We could
see them at a distance and we'd all just always spread out and make
a line and then we'd run across the field and pull them out. Oh,
there's just so much! I don't know if this is boring or not?
Chall: Did your mother make her own butter?
Sankary: Yes, everything.
Chall: Did you have cows?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: And it was mostly your mother who had this work to do with the help
of... Your older sister was already gone?
Sankary: Yes, our family. But I had the younger sister home, Theo, and my
brother and I. So there were three of us at home.
Chall: So did you work growing the family subsistence, the foods that you
ate?
Sankary: Yes, right, everything.
Chall: One of the persons I interviewed once who had grown up just this
way in — I think it was North Dakota, in an even earlier period,
remembers the family slaughtering the cattle and hogs at just about
winter time, hanging the meat, letting it freeze, and then putting
it in the attic so that it would stay safe through the winter.
8
Sankary: What we had was a little square smokehouse. It would look almost
like an outhouse and about that size. And they hung it in there and
smoked it. I don't know how many carcasses or how many months. We
also canned fruit and vegetables and put them into the cyclone
cellar for cold storage, as well as potatoes. The cellar was full
of lizards and I hated going down there to fetch things. I remem
ber when little pigs and chickens and things were born they'd bring
them in the house in a box under the stove to keep them warm.
And there were a lot of rattlesnakes I remember.
Chall: How did you manage? Were any of you bitten?
Sankary: No, but you know I'd run through the fields and often I would be
barefooted; I just loved to go barefoot. I remember stepping right
in the middle of one that was all coiled up [laughing] and I just
kept going. I was lucky. But I'd see them when they'd swallow
something like a bird or frog — ooh!
Chall: Well, you learned quite a bit.
Sankary: Ooh, yes! And I remember hundreds of Indian arrows. I keep won
dering why I didn't save those — those arrowheads, and arrows, and
rattlers I had.
Chall: Were there Indians still nearby when you were there?
Sankary: They would go by in groups and they'd dance at night and put on a
little show. I don't know what the purpose of that was.
Chall: There were reservations then. Were they near you?
Sankary: No, there weren't any reservations near us and I don't know why
these groups of Indians would travel through, but always in groups.
Chall: At a certain time of the year?
Sankary: Probably. I know the people would just join in. We would join in
and dance with who was dancing. I don't know why that was. I was
too young to find out.
Chall: As you look back, did you just think that this was sort of the normal
way to live?
Sankary: Yes, I was very happy out there. I was very happy out there. When
I learned to walk, I'd follow the other two kids to school. Then
the teacher would make them turn around and walk me back home the
two miles and as soon as they let loose of me, I'd follow them back
to school. [Laughter] So by the time I was three, I was in the
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Christmas programs, saying poems. Yes [laughter], I really was!
I can remember getting up there when I was a little kid saying
those silly little Christmas poems up there on the stage. I
memorized and recited "The Night Before Christmas" entirely, before
I entered first grade.
What kind of school was it if you were so isolated?
the school have been?
How big could
Well, there were eight rows, there would probably be ten in each
row. I'm estimating the classes. And then there would be a black
pot bellied stove in the middle and we'd put potatoes in there in
the morning — in the ashes. And by noon they'd be cooked, smelling
so wonderful I recall it to this day. The teacher would live with
various families. So we often had the teacher living with us.
This then would be a school for about how many families around
would you say?
Maybe twenty or thirty.
I see. And all the classes were in the one room?
Yes, and that school was just miles for many people,
lucky to have only two miles to walk.
I see. Yes, the others had to come long distances.
Yes.
During the school year?
I think I was
Nine months, yes.
What would happen if it were extremely cold?
school during the winter months?
Would you not have
I don't remember that ever happening. Always went. And then when
I was three, in June, a big cyclone came through. It was a tornado,
but we called it a cyclone. It sort of jumped and hit various people.
It hit our place. It was early in the evening and my mother had put
me to bed. I could see the lightning and I remember all the excite
ment. There was so much excitement in the house. But I stayed
there. And she took Theo and Roman down into the basement. We had
a cyclone cellar but we didn't go into it. She just got them down
under the house into a basement in time and then she ran up the
stairs at the last minute and grabbed me. I remember she grabbed
the bedspread, too. We just got down in the basement, up against
the west wall in the corner. We had some pillars on the porch and
10
Sankary: one of them came down cattycorner like this [gestures] , slantwise
right over our heads.
My older brother and my dad were still in the house when it
went. They were carried quite a distance I guess before it all
collapsed. But there were cars and machinery and things and they
all slid down this pillar. They would have come right down on top
of us, but they just slid down the pillar. Mother had covered me
up like this [demonstrates], bending her body completely over mine,
and then she took my brother's head and put it —
Chall: Wrapped them inside like a bird.
Sankary: Yes. And the thing that happened was that so much sand came down
on top of us that we all nearly suffocated under it. I remember not
being able to get my breath. But it was over very quickly. The
machinery was twisted, you know these heavy tractors and cars. It
was just like toys had been twisted. Just such power , it just
went around-round-round-round-round .
As we were trying to pull ourselves out of this sand, my dad
came over to the edge of the basement and under the lightning we
could see a stream of blood was coming out of his head. It was
pouring rain and out of all the buildings that had been on this farm,
an amazing thing happened. There was a little straw shack. The
big buildings all went, but the little straw shack that had been
used for the pigs stood. My parents had to get us out of the rain
and Mother wanted to do something with my dad! He helped us out
of the cellar and then collapsed. We went into this little shack.
All his clothes had been torn off of him. Mother packed the wet
straw, it was raining hard, into his wounds, trying to stop this
blood. He had a large gash in his side too. Then she covered me
with this wet straw trying to keep me warm. Then some of the
neighbors could see what had happened. You know it's just prairies
for miles — nothing to obstruct the view. When they saw that all the
buildings were gone on our place, some neighbors came over in their
car and picked us up and took us to their house. The next day
somehow they had gotten ahold of an ambulance to come out and get
my dad. He was still alive. They took him to the train and to
Miles City, Montana, the closest city of any size with a hospital.
He was there for many, many months.
Chall; Is that right? He really had been severely wounded then?
11
The Moves to Scranton, N.D. and then to San Diego, California
Sankary: Yes, he was there for months and he never worked again because he
developed arthritis. So by the time I was seven we had to leave
the farm.
So we moved into the little town of Scranton, North Dakota.
He had had a little life insurance policy that paid disability
income. So that's what we lived on. We were lucky to have that.
We had a little house there. From then on, until he died, my
mother and dad were together all the time. They were doing a
little gardening around the house. He never felt well.
Chall: He never did anything except stay at home as if he were retired?
Sankary: Yes. And he suffered so from this arthritis that he couldn't
sit up. They told him that he needed a warm climate because of
that very cold.... So that's what brought us to San Diego when I
was eleven.
Chall: So you were only in Scranton for about four years?
Sankary: We lived in Scranton for four years, yes.
Chall: Did you find that your mother was a little happier in the city
area, away from the farm? Did you notice that it changed her in
any way?
Sankary: No, not her. She was a very stable, wonderful, wonderful woman.
The only thing that bothered her that I recall was when she got the
news that her mother and dad had died. They died and she hadn't
ever seen them again. She had left Poland at nineteen and never
saw them again. It was a difficult thing for her. But she was
always a contented and happy person. There wasn't any change. And
then when we decided to come to San Diego, all of these things must
have been a hard adjustment for her. I didn't think about it.
But she was the kind that made friends every place she went and was
contented. He was very dependent on her. But when he came to
San Diego, the climate was miraculously curing to him.
Chall: It was?
Sankary: Yes, he felt very good the rest of his life.
Chall: But they still worked together at home?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: And he didn't work?
12
Sankary: No.
Chall: Did all of you come out together?
Sankary: Just Roman and I, because Theo had gone to Bismarck and taken a
secretarial course. Then she got married. Eventually she moved to
San Diego with her husband.
Chall: When you moved into a city like Scranton, was there a Catholic
church?
Sankary: Yes. And I went to catechism.
Chall: Was that your first introduction then to the Church?
Sankary: No, there was a little tiny church out in the country that we went
to on Sundays .
Chall; Were there many German people in this area homesteading? Is that
the reason your parents settled there?
Sankary: Yes, there were all kinds of nationalities. There were Swedes and
Norwegians and Polish. Let's see what else did I know there? I
don't know what the others were. There were other farms there by
the time I was born.
Chall: Was there any prejudice against Catholics?
Sankary: No. I don't believe so. I think the kids kind of teased me about
being Polish. That was something — but there were a lot of other
nationalities so I don't think I suffered from that too much.
Chall: I don't think I asked you what your father's name was. I got your
mother's.
Sankary: Michael, Mehile they called him.
Chall: Was this his first name?
Sankary: Yes, M-I-C-H-A-E-L which was pronounced Mehile.
Chall: And what was his last name?
Sankary: Kaczmarek, K-A-C-Z-M-A-R-E-K. And that "c" confused everybody, so
we dropped it and everybody easily called us "Kazmarek" then. His
brother somehow got the "c" turned into an "r" and my cousin who is
a professor at Stanford medical school, has K-A-R-Z-M-A-R-E-K.
Chall: And you always left the entire Polish name, though, except for
changing that one difficult consant?
Sankary: Yes.
13
[end tape 1, side A; begin tape 1, side B]
[Insert added by Wanda Sankary while editing]
Sankary: One of the fondest memories of my childhood is harvest time when
we went in to the railroad depot and picked up a truckful of "bums."
Some of the men came back year after year. They just rode the
freights to the various states wherever seasonal work was available.
They slept on the ground and sang around the guitar player. My mom
was very busy cooking huge meals for the crew of about ten to twenty.
I fell in love with one blond very young man and followed him over
all the fields and was broken hearted when he left. I was five,
about.
Until I left the farm, at seven, I rode my horse all day,
herding cattle or just for fun. After I left the farm I still
spent parts of the summers on my friend Alleyne's farm, riding
horses and working the Ouija Board. (It lies.)
I did have another unforgettable experience. There was a
burning coal mine near our home into which cattle might stray, and
I can still hear them bellowing as they slowly burned to death. At
night when the wind was blowing harder than usual there were bright
flares making a beautiful sight against the black sky. I learned to
swim jumping into a bottomless mine pit.
But the real crisis came when I fell into the burning part of
the mine. I was walking along near it and the grass did not look
any dryer so I didn't realize the mine had burned that far. But the
crust gave away and I found myself sinking into hot ashes. As I
reached for tufts of grass , each movement only dropped me in
deeper, and the grass gave away. Miraculously I pulled myself
gingerly out onto solid crust, but sustained severe burns to the
lower half of my body.
Living so far north also provided an exciting, almost frighten
ing, sight of the Northern Lights. While the coyotes were howling
and the incessant wind screaming, the lights moving in the sky
present an unforgettable emotional memory-haunting experience.
Frank started us all on music lessons, which must have been
"pain" for my parents out in the country where teachers were scarce.
I wanted the piano but he chose the sax for me, drums for Roman,
and violin for Theo. I ran and hid and had to be forced. I hated
it. But I played the sax on the farm, in Scranton, and in South
Dakota school bands and orchestras even when no one but me was forcing it
anymore. One day when I was about 16 my little B& soprano sax was
stolen, and I was glad. Since then I've started piano three times.
Each time a tragedy stopped it— twice I cut off a finger accidentally.
I still can't, but want to play it.
14
Sankary: I was a very sensitive and sentimental child and still am — crying
(on the farm) when my sister was playing the haunting theme from
"Tales of Hoffman," or at visits from or to my brother Frank after
he left the farm for the city. I still feel the tearing of my
heart. I needed people then, too, so when I couldn't play with
Theo and Roman (we had a perpetual merchandising game going that
we invented) I walked over to a neighbor's house one mile away
where there were lots of children, and stayed two to three days
or until they sent me home. This was the only thing in my memory
that I was punished for and I do remember how afraid of my mom I
was at those times when I was coming home.
One other memory of my early years was the walk to the outhouse
alone during the night — it was quite a long way. I still think this
was a dangerous trek.
I was three when the cyclone hit; yet I remember the interior
of the house prior to that, and my rocking horse, and hearing the
song on the gramophone, "Oh the sun shines bright on pretty red
red wing — " [end insert]
Chall: We were discussing I think about your mother's adjustment, and your
parents' general adjustment to all these changes in their lives.
Sankary: Well, when we went to school we couldn't speak English, any of us
kids. But we were all good students. I know I always was a top
flight student. [Laughs] Very serious about my studies and every
one else in the family was too.
Chall: Was this encouraged? Did they feel that in the United States you
got ahead if you did well in school?
Sankary: I don't recall any encouragement from them. I don't recall any
encouragement from my parents, but they went to the trouble of
learning English, too, learning to read and write it with us. It
was very amusing all my mother's life; she'd pick up so much slang
and then get it all screwed up and say it wrong. She was really
very amusing to listen to, interspersing all this American slang in
her broken English. She'd write it that way, too. [Laughs] Very
funny .
Chall: Was her contact when they moved to San Diego with the Church?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: What kind of social life did she find here?
Sankary: With the Church and they also liked to play cards. We used to have
dances out on the farm. They always liked to dance. So I learned
to dance when I learned to walk. And I rode a horse from the time
I could walk, too.
15
Chall: Well, did you miss the farm when you moved into the city?
Sankary: Yes, indeed! It was a little of an adjustment for me in the city.
It wasn't the same anymore. I remember not being as happy in
Scranton. But then when I came to San Diego, I liked that a lot
better. Somehow I mixed better in school or at least it was such a
large school — hundreds of students — and so I didn't feel so con
spicuous, and found close companionship at last.
Chall: Let's see 1919 and eleven, that's 1930 you moved here.
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: Just about the time when the Depression was hitting.
Sankary: Yes.
San Diego; Jobs, Schools and Illness. 1930-1942
Chall: Was your father's pension enough to survive?
Sankary: Yes, we got by. But I always worked. I always had a job of some
kind. I started when I was eleven years old taking care of children.
I was very ambitious. I don't know where I got all this ambition.
All through my high school and grade school, I always had jobs. We
all did. It wasn't that my mother ever urged us to, or my dad.
They didn't encourage us to study.
The only thing I remember about my mother encouraging me to do
anything, was to have a good time. She said, "Have all the fun you
can while you're young." [Laughs] So if I would turn down a date
or something, they'd always say, "Oh, no. You should go." [Laughs]
Chall: Do you think she felt she'd missed something?
Sankary: I imagine she did. She didn't have all the fun so she sort of
lived through all the fun I was having and enjoyed hearing about it.
She'd even come to the dances when she was quite old just to watch
us dance.
Chall: Where would this be? What kind of dances?
Sankary: Ballroom dancing.
Chall: I see. In big halls?
Sankary: Yes.
16
Chall: Yes, that was the era of the big bands and the big halls.
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: When you said you felt less conspicuous by being in San Diego in a
big school — by that you meant what — what was your conspicuousness
before?
Sankary: Well, when I moved into the little town I think there was a little — I
don't know, I was off the farm. I was a farm kid and they were
little snobbish city kids. I didn't feel accepted completely. I
don't think the whole time I lived there did I feel completely happy
and accepted. I felt as if I were different. I recall we lived
across the street from a motel on this gravel highway that crossed
the state. Somebody came by with a little girl my age. He was a
professor at U.C. Berkeley. In getting acquainted with this girl
and talking to them I got in my mind "That's where I'm going to go
to college." And I just couldn't wait to get out of there and
come to California. [Laughs]
Chall: You knew you were getting closer to your goal, is that it?
Sankary: Yes. So when they decided to go to San Diego I decided that was
going to be just right. I was happy in San Diego.
Chall: Were you in public school?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: Your parents never felt the need of putting you in parochial schools?
Sankary: No, they didn't. And they didn't give us that much religion either.
I know the priest came to the house one time and complained because
I wasn't studying my catechism.
Chall: If your mother was very devout, why do you think she didn't require
that study?
Sankary: She was just that lenient. She never asked me to do the dishes or
do any work around the house. I don't know why. She just spoiled
me to death. She'd never ask me to do anything. Or to go to
catechism, or to not go to catechism. Being the last child she
just, I guess, sort of spoiled me. At that time she had a lot of
time. When she had the other children she was very busy and they
had to work and help her. I guess she felt that maybe that was too
bad.
Chall: So did you feel spoiled as you look back on it?
17
Sankary: No, I didn't. I have just felt very close to her, very, very close.
Chall: And what were your relationships with your father? Were you also
his darling daughter?
Sankary: Well, he did spoil me, too, I guess. You know he had nothing else
to do.
Chall: How did he spend his time?
Sankary: He always went to these clubs where they had shuffleboard and
other games, and to parks, and he enjoyed singing, and he played
cards. Mother did, too. They had a very pleasant relationship and
old age.
Chall: What about Roman? What was he doing then? He was going to school
in San Diego?
Sankary: Yes, he went to school and he went to college a couple of years. He
went into the army. My dad had rented the farm out. Roman decided
to go back and try his luck at farming. He's been there ever since.
Chall: Very interesting. Do you go back and see the farm from time to time?
Sankary: I haven't been there for many years. When I go it's just so senti
mental for me. It's really painful.
Chall: Has he married, and does he have a family there?
Sankary: Yes, he has a big family there.
Chall: So that was really a happy time for you then, the farm?
Sankary: Yes, it was.
Chall: The first impressionable years.
Sankary: Yes, very happy.
Chall: When you came here you were eleven. You were already what, you were
at the end of your grammar school years?
Sankary: I went into the ninth grade, I think.
Chall: No, maybe seventh?
Sankary: Yes, I guess so. I'm trying to think. Yes, I was in junior high,
Woodrow Wilson Jr. High, but I don't remember what grade. And I
know the English class here was so easy; oh, I was way advanced in
English. I don't know why we learned, we really concentrated on
English grammar in Dakota, I guess.
18
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Maybe because there were so many foreign people that they had to
teach you English.
I guess so. I was so bored in their English classes all through
school here. I had it all. [Laughter] It ±s^ funny, isn't it? I
still feel, when I raised my children, that they didn't do much
studying of English and grammar like we did. We memorized poems.
They really worked us.
I had so many jobs
And then where did you go to high school?
Hoover High in San Diego. I was a straight A.
you can't imagine [laughing].
What did you do?
Oh, I worked in a theatre box office at night and I worked every
weekend in a department store. I was fifteen when I got that
job — I lied about my age. I said I was eighteen and I think they
knew better in that department store. I worked there for three
years every weekend and holiday.
Selling?
Selling.
Anything special?
In the men's department. This man had a tricky way of making you
work. He'd post in the women's room the total of all the sales that
everyone did. And the ones who sold the least — he'd fire a certain
number at the bottom all the time. So you had to work hard. I
found that I could sell more to men than to women because women
would think about it and compare. Men would walk in and say, "Well,
I want five shirts," and that's all there is to it. So I kept my
sales up by just insisting I wanted that department [laughing].
Is this department store still in existence?
National Dollar Stores. I don't know if they're still in existence
or not. I think they are in San Diego but I don't know if it's a
national chain or not.
Was it owned by Chinese?
Yes.
Yes, they are a chain.
19
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Yes, he was a Chinese, a big Chinese man. I also got a job in a
radio station in a little serial. They didn't have television
then, you know. [Laughter]
What were you doing, reading?
Yes. Well, I was in the play. They'd give us lines to read rather
than to memorize in this little serial. I thought that was a lot
of fun. When the movie studios would come into town I'd get jobs
as an extra. Then I also worked for the Padres Baseball Team.
On Sundays they had baseball games and I'd sell in the candy
booths, or I'd sell the cushions.
Then I got another job. On our corner there was an optometrist.
He asked me to work for him afternoons, after school — just as a
receptionist. But he was the president of the California Optometric
Association. He had very advanced methods; he had a bunch of
eye-exercise machines. He worked with children. They'd look into
this machine and somehow, if they were cross-eyed or anything, he
could straighten their eyes out rather than giving them lenses all
the time. It was a very rewarding thing. He taught me how to run
these things. So children would come in for these eye exercises.
I worked there. Let me see, what else did I do? Oh, I did a
little waiting on tables.
You were ambitious.
I always worked. Then I worked for a man who sold Wearever — I think
it was Wearever — aluminum. He'd put on these dinners in homes for
twenty people and then he'd try to sell them these pots. So I'd
help him cook the meal and then I had to do all those dishes while
he was giving them his spiel. That took till eleven o'clock at
night. And I cleaned houses. I always did babysitting and clean
ing houses, too.
You really didn't have to ask your parents for any money, did you?
No, never. I supported myself all the way through. And the school
cafeteria — I worked at noon so I got my lunch there free. And I
always took hard subjects: chemistry, and physics, and foreign
languages. I didn't play around. I took a lot of math. And I
always got straight A's. Straight A through high school.
What was your goal?
to do?
No.
Just liked studying.
Did you have an idea about what you were going
20
Sankary: I knew I was going to college. There just wasn't any doubt in my
mind. I remember how shocked I was that some of those kids didn't
go to college. It was unthinkable! We just had that much drive.
But I didn't know what I was going to do. Well, the optometrist
talked me into going into the school of optometry in Berkeley.
Chall: Is that right? Even as a woman?
Sankary: Yes. Well, I didn't know what else to do so I went into the school
of optometry at Berkeley. I took what amounted to a lot of physics
and pre-med courses. We actually cut up the cadavers like the
medical students were doing. The thing that got me was the physics
end of it. Some of those labs were just too hard for me. I couldn't
work with bending rays of light and all of this — too technical. I
was floundering.
At that time, which I'm jumping a little ahead, I was married
to a boy from Scranton, North Dakota. World War II had started and
he was a pilot in the navy. I went with him for three years and
when I married him I was in Berkeley. In five months he had crashed
and was killed. My life was just thrown up in the air. So I went
back to San Diego and got a job as an investigator.
Chall: Let me get those dates. You finished high school in about —
Sankary: 1937.
Chall: 1937. And did you marry?
Time Out to Recuperate from Tuberculosis
Sankary: No, then I went to San Diego State — college then, it's a university
now — for two years. I was just taking general things. I majored in
physics and minored in math, intending to go to Berkeley.
Chall: So you did get through two years of physics and math?
Sankary: Yes, and there it was easy. But at Cal it was a lot harder. The
thing that happened then — I got tuberculosis.
Chall: When?
Sankary: In 1939, when I was nineteen, I think.
Chall: You hadn't gone to Berkeley yet?
Sankary: No.
21
Chall: And you hadn't married yet?
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall :
Sankary :
Chall :
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
No.
Okay. You got tuberculosis,
at both ends.
You must have been burning the candle
I was, because I was a very healthy child I thought. Everybody else
had measles and my sister had scarlet fever when I was a little
girl. I never caught any of the things that the rest of the family
caught. I don't know why. I never was sick.
I got a severe pain in my back and it was just like a knife had
gone through me. What had happened was the lung had filled with
pleurisy fluid. That saved me because it's such an insidious
disease. There's no pain with it. You don't know you have it until
it's too late. But because I got pleurisy they discovered this
little spot. Because all through the whole treatment my skin test
on my arm was still negative. And my sputum was negative. There
was np_ indication ever that I had TB. But when I got that pleurisy
which was jso painful, the lung collapsed with the fluid. So I went
into the TB hospital. Oh, that was a terribly emotional traumatic
experience.
Where was that?
In San Diego.
There was a hospital here?
Yes. And first thing every day they put this long hollow needle
down into my chest and draw out this fluid and then fill it with
air, to keep the lung collapsed. And there weren't any antibiotics.
There was no cure for it.
Yes, just rest and fresh air.
And they'd put these heavy bags of sand on your chest. You had to
lay in bed constantly, just constantly. Then you kept your lung
from working by putting heavy bags of sand on your chest. I lay
for two years and emotionally it was just a terrible experience.
I was so lonely, you know. Suddenly no dancing; they allowed no
visitors; they allowed, twice a week, two members of the family.
So I saw none of my friends. I couldn't do any of the things
that I loved to do. All that activity just suddenly stopped. It
was a terrible shock. I almost had to learn to walk over again.
It took so long to be able to walk!
They didn't even let you get up and walk around?
No, no exercise at all.
My, that was the real bold treatment, wasn't it?
22
Sankary: Yes, it was. And then for three years after that I just had to lay
down a lot. But those that didn't — friends that I made in that
hospital — died. I had the determination to do it.
Chall: Were there many in there your age?
Sankary: Not terribly, no. I only saw the women. There were some that died
my age, yes. It was a very hard blow. So when I got out of that,
that two years I was —
Chall: That was from 1939 to about 1941, then, you were hospitalized?
Sankary: Yes, I was very careful. I lay down a lot. I never went out on a
date anymore, never danced. They didn't let me do any exercise of
any kind — couldn't ride a horse, or do anything.
Chall: How many years was that?
Sankary: It's two years flat on my back and three years of no exercise. And
then I felt that it was contained sufficiently so I almost could
lead a normal life.
So, in 1940 is when he came to San Diego, Allen Young, whom I
married. He was in the navy. I'd say I went with him three years
although we never went out. [Laughs] Poor guy. And then he'd go
away for months. One time I wrote a nasty letter to the navy. They
called him up before the board about it I To show you how aggressive
I was. [Laughing] They had told him he was only going to go on
cruise for four months. They kept him six. I wrote a letter of
complaint. I wasn't even married to him. My gosh, he was so
embarrassed. They called him up in front of the admiral. [Laughing
hard] The war was on then; "What are you telling her?" Oh, gee.
Then I went to Berkeley. [Autumn, 1941] In between studying
at the school of optoaetry in Berkeley and Law school, the war broke out
and I worked at Convair on blueprints in the Engineering Department
for a year or less, when I left to marry my pilot, Allen Young. We
lived in Alameda and I commuted to Berkeley by bus taking general
courses, not knowing in what profession I really wanted to be.
My first marriage was in Reno; my second in Yuma, but both were
deep lifetime commitments, contrary to the sometimes limpid relation
ships with big pretentious church weddings. However to please my
mother, Morrie [Morris Sankary] and I were married again in the
Catnolic Church.
23
World War II Widow: Trauma and Recovery
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary;
Chall:
Did you go to Berkeley before you were married?
Yes. And he was stationed in Florida. He got himself transferred
to Alameda because of me. And soon thereafter I married him.
Can you tell me that date?
I married him in December of '42, I guess because July 2 of '43 was
the day he was killed. He was sending me letters every day from the
South Pacific. He was in Nandi, Fiji Islands. It was night flying
and they thought it might be sabotage at first, but I don't think it
was. He just crashed at the end of a runway for no reason except the
night flying search lights might have blinded him.
You were then still in Berkeley?
Yes. But I quit school and came home to San Diego. He was sending
me letters every day and one arrived every day after he was dead.
Oh, gee, my poor sister, she went through a terrible experience.
The wire came to San Diego that said that he had been killed. She
didn't want to tell me over the phone, she wanted to be with me
when this news broke. During wartime the civilians couldn't travel.
It took her seventeen hours to get to Berkeley on those planes. She
arrived there about three o'clock in the morning, because they put
her off in L.A. and she sat and she couldn't get on a plane. There
were no seats. She just had a terrible time getting to Berkeley.
But she had called from San Diego and she was crying when she
called, and told the people I was rooming with. I had a room in a
private home. She told them not to tell me, but told them what had
happened. And that she was coming up there. But she said to make
sure that I stayed and waited for her. So when I took the phone
and she was crying, she said, "Something terrible happened. I can't
tell you on the phone but I'm coming up there." And I thought, "My
god, she's running from the police. She's killed somebody."
[Laughing] So I waited for her all day and all night. She finally
got there with that telegram. When she gave me that wire, she
collapsed from exhaustion. So I was alone anyway. [Laughing] It
was a terrible night, oh, it was terrible.
She got ahold of a chaplain, a Catholic priest, the next day.
He was so nice. He arranged for transportation back to San Diego.
They apparently had seats saved for emergencies, for priests to
give out.
Did you feel at that point that your life had just dropped out from
under you?
24
Sankary: I just went into shock. For months I had hallucinations and I'd
hear things like doors opening and closing. The doctors, you know
in those days — I don't know if I just couldn't find the right doctor,
but nobody could help me. They just said, "It's a shock to your
nervous system and that's why you're having all these problems."
Terrible dreams. I went through about five years of hell I think
before I got over this. I had heard of others who had such a shock
who ended up in the mental institution.
Chall: So it was hard to accept this?
Sankary: Just terrible. I kept so busy. I got a job in the most demanding
and interesting profession I could think of: as an investigator.
[Laughter] I applied for it with an old firm in San Diego,
Le Barren Company.
Chall: A detective?
Sankary: Yes, but most of it was investigation for insurance companies and
major law firms. But there was just endless work. He, Mr. Le Barren,
couldn't get any help because of the war. When I applied for a job
at this prestigious thirty-year-old firm, Mr. LeBarron thundered at
me, "What makes you think you can do this kind of work?" He did
give me a trial and paid me according to his confidence: fifteen
dollars a week. But he raised me regularly until finally I was
manager. I had a car for my own use and unlimited gasoline fur
nished to me (during rationing) !
I worked like fifteen, sixteen hours a day just to keep occu
pied because I didn't want to go to bed. As soon as I'd lay down
and be alone I was just so unhappy. I was afraid to go to sleep
because of the war dreams I had. So I just worked so hard for
that man. [Laughing] He said in thirty years no one had made so
much money for him as I did. [Laughing]
Chall: Were you living at home?
Sankary: Yes, with my mother and dad. This man really got a lot of work
out of me because I knew how to get information when nobody else
could. I had contacts at all military bases to enter restricted
areas to locate and interview my subject. I really was a good
investigator and I made a nationwide name for myself. I investi
gated highway patrol and railroad accidents, fires, and criminal
cases, going into places alone that today would be impossibly
dangerous.
Chall: How many years did you do it?
25
Law School, 1945-1950
Sankary: Over two years, July, 'A3 to fall of '45. At that time he made
me manager of the company and I was only twenty-four. I also was
having fun dancing and I was much in demand partly because I had a
car and gasoline. When I was twenty-five I went to law school.
The state provided education for widows of California veterans. It
was free. So I eagerly went back to school. [Laughs] I didn't
know what else to study except law because I worked for a lot of
law firms in San Diego. One prominent attorney I worked for, Cy
Monroe, told me, however, "If I had known what I do now, I wouldn't
have the courage to go into law." But I wouldn't be frightened out
of it. At that age I plunged in ravenously.
Chall: As an investigator you would have?
Sankary: Yes. I made such a good name for myself. I was the best one. They
all say that even now. I worked for Phil Swing, the ex-congressman
from San Diego. He was a very prominent man. He's the one who got
the hoover Dam built that brought all the water into southern Cali
fornia. I worked for really big law firms and prominent lawyers who
later became judges. Years later they'd say, "You were the best
investigator I ever had." They wouldn't have anyone but me on any
of their cases. I really worked hard. I'm sorry that the ones most
important in this period are now dead, and I can't get an "intro
duction" from them for this book.
Chall: Where did you decide to go to law school?
Sankary: USC. [University of Southern California]
Chall: Now the fact that you were there on veteran's privilege, did they
have to accept you whether you were a woman or not? Was there a
problem getting in?
Sankary: Well, a funny thing happened. It was in the fall of '45 when the
war ended. They had millions of applicants, all on the G.I. bill.
So the competition was just the worst in history. But there was a
woman who worked for the dean. She was an older woman, his secre
tary. She gave these tests that would qualify people to go to law
school. I always felt that she gave me more time than she gave the
others because I couldn't answer half of those questions and I'd
think and think and think. And I thought to myself, "There must
be a time limit." And she never came in to say, "Time's up." She
gave me so much time I was sure to pass that darn test. Awfully
high.
I always feel grateful to her. I don't know her name anymore
and she wasn't there when I started classes. After she gave the test
then she left and the dean got a new secretary. But I always feel
26
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary :
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary:
grateful that I would never have made it if it hadn't been for
that woman helping this woman. I think she favored me because I
was a girl among all these millions of men applying.
Were you the only girl in the law school?
No, there were five or so in the law school. And there were several
hundred students. I'd say maybe nine hundred students altogether
in law school, all men. But in so many of the classes, like there 'd
be two hundred men and one girl, me. [Laughing]
Because there were so few of you?
Yes.
You think there were four or five entering women that year?
No, there were that many through the three years. They weren't all
freshmen women. When I started law school I realized I had found
my niche. It suited my mind. It was a different kind of a mental
exercise, to think logically, to follow thoughts around corners. It
was the first time since high school that I really enjoyed studying.
I was a very good law student because I think they were tougher
on women. I know I was getting just top grades all the way. The
very first semester I made the law review and I retained this honor
every semester, contributing articles for publication. I also sold
some articles to a magazine called "Medical Economics." The lower
third of every class was dropped by USC because they had so many
applicants. There were Ph.D.'s and Phi Beta Kappas that fell into
that lower third and were given notice, and oh, did I get resentment.
Especially when they were losing. The men that couldn't make it.
[end tape 1, side B; begin tape 2, side A]
I remember remarks maue by teachers that it was a waste of time to
have a woman study law.
What did they think? Why was it a waste of time?
thought you wouldn't be able to practice?
Because they
Well, one of them said, "Because they just get married and raise
children and it's wasted." Other teachers, although they didn't
say anything would just act as if I wasn't there. They never called
on me. They'd ignore me completely. And others would just enjoy
making it difficult. I was really quite naive when I went to law
school. I didn't know very much. They'd get into raunchy cases
maybe that involved sex, hideous crimes or something. Then they'd
call on me, of course, for the very worst case to discuss.
27
Chall: So they didn't help you? They didn't throw too many roadblocks in
your way, but they didn't help you?
Sankary: Yes, I certainly didn't get any preferential treatment, ever. The
tests were not by name, but by number so I think that I got a fair
shake when they gave me the grades, too. I studied all the time.
I never went out that whole time. There was that drive again. It
drives people crazy even today — if I get one thing on my mind to
do — nothing stops me. I don't let anyone divert me even a little
bit. It just annoys people around me — my companions. Because I'm
like a bulldog pursuing something.
But it was so hard in law school to learn the vernacular, the
language. Like they always said, "You always should have the first
three years before you take the first class." [Laughs] Because it
just all ties in. When they give you Contracts the first year, it
has to do with things that you study the last year — corporations
that have made contracts, for instance. You know nothing about a
corporate set-up. So it's just very hard the first year. I really
studied. And then when I got the grades, then I began to get some
attention from the other students. I got a little respect. I'd
either get resentment or just a little bit of respect and they'd
want me to help them with their problems. It made me feel good.
Chall: Where did you live?
Sankary: Part of the time I had an apartment, once alone and other times
I shared it with other women. Then I would rent rooms in a home
near the campus — walking distance.
Chall: I see. And so you spent your time going to class, studying, and
also working from time to time?
Sankary: No, I didn't work at all. But after two years I quit, went to work
and then I returned a year and a half later.
Chall: Why was that?
Sankary: Well, I guess I needed the money. I still had a broken heart and
I was searching for someone or something. And maybe the drag was
getting me down a little. I felt so hemmed in.
Chall: Yes, it was confining.
Sankary: Very confining. It was almost the same as the experience with TB.
I was just isolated too much. I went up to Washington, a little
town, Ellensberg, where I had friends. I got a job with the Wash
ington — unemployment compensation department. That took me to
little towns, little mining towns up in the mountains giving out
checks and interviewing people.
28
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary ;
That was interesting to you?
Yes.
Well, you were sort of investigating. You were doing something like
what you'd done before in San Diego. You were dealing again with
people.
Yes and it was a novelty to me to ski because I'd been raised in
San Diego, so I learned to ski up there. I enjoyed that year.
After that interlude I returned to school and finished.
At USC?
Yes. There it was an entirely different class. My class had gradu
ated. It was all new students again. [Laughs] Most everybody was
new to me. I met my husband, Morris, in a class there, and I imme
diately knew I wanted him. We studied together. He was brilliant.
How far along was he by then?
He was just as far along as I was because we graduated together. We
took classes together and graduated together. Then I was offered a
couple of really nice jobs. I was so attached to him I couldn't go.
This was the crossroads that would have changed my whole life. One
was an offer from Supreme Court Justice Douglas, of all people, to
come and be a clerk.
Oh, what an honor.
Yes, to interview for it and I guess I would have got it. The
other one was a Justice Wey, I think W-e-y, in Honolulu. That
would have appealed to me tremendously. I don't know how I got
these offers.
You must have had very high standing in your class.
Yes, I did. If I had gone to Washington, just think where I might
have been today, the connections I would have made all the last
thirty years.
But you decided to....
Hang around and marry Morris.
Bitter?
[Laughing]
No! Well, I wonder what my life would have been. But I was always
the sentimental type. I was always very sensitive, very sensitive.
I'm not the hard politician type at all.
29
Chall: Well, maybe you felt you wanted to get married.
Sankary: Well, I'd gone through many years without finding anyone that meant
anything to me.
Chall: Yes. This was what year, now when you were through with law
school?
Sankary: 1950.
Chall: 1950. So that was quite a number of years since you had been
widowed.
Sankary: Yes. I married him in '52.
Chall: Oh, I see. So this was just a romance at the time, in 1950?
Sankary: Ten years, it took me ten years to find someone I wanted. All that
time I was very lonely. Oh there were lots of suitors, but I don't
fall in love easily. It took me ten years.
Chall: And his name was Morris Sankary?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: 1952.
Sankary: Yes.
Establishing a Legal Practice
Chall: What did you do between '50 and '52 then; did you work in a law
firm in San Diego?
Sankary: On graduation I Immediately went to work for the Los Angeles County
Medical Association director researching laws in all the states for
his lecture tours throughout the nation. I also was practicing law,
fully, with lots of clients. I made more money the first few months
than anyone I knew in my class. In fact, I hired several attorneys
to work for me, including Morrie. I paid them two dollars an hour.
In L.A. [Los Angeles] I worked with Russell Parsons. I don't
know if you've heard of him. He ran for mayor. He was rather a
political type of attorney, not heavy in practicing law. Sometimes
he represented prostitutes. I met some beautiful women in that
field. About all he did was give me office space surprisingly, no
30
Sankary: salary. Then I gradually built up my own clientele through his
office and in my own apartment.
In the meantime Morrie had been appointed by Gordon Dean to
the Atomic Energy Commission in Oakridge. He went there for a
couple months, and he didn't like it. He returned. Then Judge
Carter, a federal judge, gave him a clerkship with him.
I was practicing law on my own, privately. I had a case
against an ex-judge Sheehan in Santa Monica. I can't remember his
first name but he was a retired judge who was practicing law. I
beat him so badly in this case, because I really knew the law, and
as you get older you don't know it anymore. You forget it, you
know. So he wasn't doing so hot. I beat him so badly that he
offered me a job. He said, "I'd rather have you with me than against
me."
So I worked for him for, oh until I went to San Diego and
married. When Judge Carter recommended Morrie for the U.S. Attorney
spot in San Diego he took the opportunity because they needed a
full-charge attorney. He was a very good attorney, too. He's
brilliant and dedicated and thoroughly honest. While practicing
law in San Diego for about two years I had to keep coming up to
Los Angeles to finish cases that I had going. So I spent a lot of
time in L.A.
Chall: This was after you were married?
Sankary: Yes, then I practiced law alone again in San Diego because he was
the U.S. Attorney. Eventually he joined me.
Besides practicing law in an office I opened alone in the Bank
of America Building in San Diego. I also taught law in the Adult
Education program, one of the classes being on television, which
was good training for the time when I entered politics a year later.
During the time we practiced law together I also for a time
owned and operated a collection agency. When we went into the
modular home construction business in 1969, it was before its time,
and although we put in all our effort and money, $500,000, it folded
with the collapse of the general economy three years later. I am so
sold on that great product we had, however, I would try it again,
anytime.
Chall: I noticed the name of your law firm is Sankary and Sankary.
I assumed you were still practicing law. Are you?
Sankary: Yes. Well, about a year ago we ran into some trouble. So I stopped
working with him daily in the office and we stopped living together.
31
Sankary: We haven't gotten a divorce. It's just a very painful situation.
I suppose we will. We're good friends but we just sort of lost
each other on the way somewhere after all these years.
But I only practiced law about a year in San Diego when I
got into the assembly race.
''The Sankarys were divorced in mid-1977.
32
II THE NEW CHALLENGES: POLITICS AND MOTHERHOOD
Winning Candidate for California Assembly, 1954
Sankary: I never went to any political meetings. Never. I've never been
to a political convention yet! So it was just out of the blue
that these people that saw me practicing law decided I would make
a good candidate and that I should run for the state assembly. I
didn't know what an assemblyman was. And as usual I never turn
anything down [laughter]. So I got into this campaign not knowing a
thing about politics. I didn't know one issue from another. Really,
I was terribly dumb as most voters are. I don't know how I ever
got elected except that I went after it again like a bear.
Chall: And you were pregnant?
Sankary: Yes, but I didn't know it, until my name was on the ballot and then
I couldn't get it removed from the ballot. Then I found out I was
pregnant. Oh, was that ever a shocker!
Chall: Now generally they say that in those days they would ask a woman
to run when they needed a candidate for the office, but it was a
pretty sure thing that she'd —
Sankary: That she'd lose?
Chall: That she'd lose.
Sankary: Maybe that's what they thought.
Chall: Well, I'm not sure. That's why I'm asking.
Sankary: They never told me if that's so.
Chall: Was this a Republican district primarily?
Sankary: Yes.
1925 - School Transportation
My brother, sister § I drove this way to
school in Dakota. In the winter the horse
pulled a covered sled instead. Sometimes
we rode horses.
1954 - 1st Campaign
33
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall :
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary:
And was there a Republican incumbent?
Yes.
Well, you see cross-filing was then not out but you at least had to
designate, in 1954, your party. This was one of the first chances
either for Republicans or Democrats, depending upon what the district
was, to run under their party affiliations. Sometimes a party will
put a person in a race in order to have somebody running, but they
might not expect that person to win.
They gave me absolutely no financial help. I didn't get one penny
from the Democratic party.
This would have been the county central committee of San Diego?
I don't know if they had any money they were so disorganized. There
was no organization at all, at all.
Let me start from the beginning then.
Can you remember who they were?
Who approached you to run?
Well, he is now a judge. He was an attorney then. Later he was in
Sacramento, a state senator, I believe. He was very active in San
Diego, and a Democrat, and a lawyer, so he became aware of me I
guess in the court, because I went into trials like a bear [laughter]
always doing my best to win, but fairly and honestly.
Well, you must have impressed them,
chance.
Maybe they thought you had a
I wouldn't think
I don't know but he asked me if I wanted to do it.
of saying no.
What did your husband think?
I guess he was for it, too. But an unfortunate thing happened then.
This person who approached me was representing a bunch of builders
who had done a lot of construction of veteran housing in San Diego.
There were just thousands of houses.
There was a big scandal that came out, the Veterans' Scandal
they called it — in which the president of the bank, the veterans'
officials, and the builders were in a big conspiracy to milk money
out of these houses into their own pockets. And Morrie being the
U.S. Attorney had to prosecute all these people. There was a suicide
and a death from heart attack. It went on for many months. It was
a tremendous big, big scandal because there were millions of dollars
involved. He'd prosecuted each one of them and convicted them. The
man who had approached me to run was involved in this scheme as an
Sankary: attorney. I didn't know it. It cost him a lot of money. He lost,
we heard, $50,000 on just one deal which fell through because the
frauds were exposed. Thereafter when I was already a candidate he
came to me and he threatened both me and Morrie, mentioning disbar
ment ana such.
Chall. This was after he had asked you to run?
Sankary: Yes. Then he wanted to drop me. He said, "If you don't get Morrie
off of these cases...." You know, he wanted me_ to exercise some
influence there and I couldn't do it. So we fell out. He dropped
me and worked against me very, very hard. For many years he and I
never had a word with each other. He was so bitter. And so many of
the others that were involved worked against me and they happened to
be Democrats. So I got nothing from the Republicans, of course, and
I got nothing from the Democratic party. My worst enemies were in
the Democratic party. They just did everything to defeat me, just
out of malice.
Chall: Were they mostly Democrats that were aligned with him in this
scandal?
Sankary: Yes, I think so.
Chall: Or at least he was important enough so that Democrats would be
protective?
Sankary: Yes, because he was very active; he was the top of the Democratic
party in San Diego, what there was. He was a very active Democrat
and therefore, I think that most everyone he was associated with
would have been a Democrat.
As a result I had to do it on my own. I figure over the total
it cost us about $100,000. I paid all my own workers; I paid every-
thing out of my own pocket. I got absolutely no help from anybody,
except some labor union support.
Chall: How did you learn to run a campaign?
Sankary: Just hit or miss. Many unsavory people came to me. There is always
a cadre of flakes who try to attach themselves to some politician
for their own nefarious ends. It takes some time and intuition to
cull them from your campaign and recognize their time-consuming
worthlessness, and the danger sometimes in associating with such
political hacks. I guess I just wasn't very political. I was too
straightforward. I'd say no in no uncertain terms and I suppose
that made a lot of enemies. People who wanted something — I remember
a very rich man in San Diego, Harry Farb. You'll run across the
name because he was Brown's closest — I guess his campaign manager in
San Diego. Very close to Jerry Brown [Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr.]
35
Chall:
Sankary
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary :
Oh this is Jerry Brown?
Yes, he is very close to Jerry Brown even now, even though he's an
old man. But at that time, and he was very wealthy, he wanted me to
allow him to tell me who the appointments would be on the central
committee [Democratic State Central Committee]. He would back my
campaign. I said no. I never got a penny. For years he and I
never spoke to each other. In that little town it seemed I had
made all these enemies just being stupid I guess. But maybe it's
inevitable. Recently in talking with him I said, "I'm afraid
about — whatever it was. He retorted, "You're not afraid of any
thing!"
You didn't even know what the central committee was at the time?
No, but I wasn't going to let him dictate just because he put up
some money.
So you lost that?
Yes, I lost that, too. Then I remember a woman and her husband
came and said that they wanted to write my speeches. Well, fine.
I needed all the help I could get. But the stupid speeches that
she wrote I wouldn't give because it was all using feminine wiles,
"poor little me (a woman)." I never could use that kind of thing
at all. I wouldn't use her speeches, so I offended her. It's not
that I wasn't gentle enough either. The things they said about me!
They'd come and say it to my sister and friends; run me down. Oh,
I used to feel very bad about what people said about me. I am out
growing that a little, at last. And I find that I made a lot of
friends and admirers also. I am frequently meeting strangers who
remember me very clearly twenty-two years later!
But this was the primary you're talking about?
Yes, the very first one.
Now you didn't have any opposition?
Yes , there were a lot of —
A lot of Democrats?
Yes, a lot of them ran. At first there were about seven Democrats
running. They dropped out along the way. Only [John] Coker per
sisted into the primary. But I just got out and worked. I rang
doorbells, I walked, oh my God, I walked eight hours a day for
months, every day. I was practicing law real hard then, too, trying
to keep up an income.
36
Sankary: I don't know how I did it, because when I got elected my husband
hired another attorney who had been practicing law — he wasn't
completely new at law. He stayed less than three months I think
because he lost fifteen pounds just doing my law practice. I
said, "What if you'd been in a campaign and having a baby at the
same time!"
I really managed a lot of work. However, in the nine months
working as hard as I did in law and in the campaign and carrying
the baby I lost fifteen pounds too. And the baby at birth weighed
nine pounds.
Chall: This just fascinates me. You carried on a sort of traditional type
of campaign. Did your husband help you with your organization?
Sankary: No, he was too busy. He didn't help me at all. And I had to carry
my law practice — I just had to go to court and do all the usual
things. Then I found out I was pregnant and I nearly died because
I was so embarrassed. I didn't want anyone to know. It didn't
show, really show for about six months. I never told anybody that
first six months [laughing]. The baby was born in November and it
was in June that 1 left. [Laughs] I made the announcement to the
press. Then we went to Niagara Falls before it broke. There
everybody was looking at me. I seemed to be pregnant and on my
honeymoon. But I didn't have the courage to come home for about a
month to this big furor: "Mrs. Sankary is pregnant." [Laughter]
Chall: You had won the primary?
Sankary: I had won the primary, yes.
Chall: Then you announced that you were pregnant?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: How did you feel about winning the primary against all these odds?
Sankary: Oh, I just expected to. I didn't expect not to win the general
election either. It was the biggest surprise of my life that it was
so close, and that the baby was coming that afternoon. He put me
in the hospital, the doctor, and he said, "You're so tired; you
just rest," I don't think he'll come for a couple weeks but I want
you to rest." So he put me in the hospital and the baby was born
that night.
Chall: You mean that election night?
Sankary: No, November 3. Election night I was home, up all night listening
to returns. The next noon I went into hospital. Returns were still
coming in all afternoon. I went under and delivered at 9 p.m., not
36a
i&i&mi'S&i&ufSts&tfr.
Wanda Sankary
On the Campaign Trail, 1954
with Eleanor Roosevelt
with Adlai Stevenson
with the Richard Graves campaign
37
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary;
knowing final results yet. They didn't have machines then — they
were counting. I'd be like twenty votes ahead, then he'd be
thirty votes ahead — it was so close.
Who was your opponent?
It was Chester Schneider who was a Republican city councilman in
San Diego for many years, a very prominent Republican.
Had he been an incumbent?
He was an incumbent city councilman at the time.
Oh, I see. But the seat was open then.
No. The Republican incumbent in the assembly was Kathryn Niehouse,
ill a lot. Remember?
Oh, yes.
She was there but she wasn't running for reelection.
Was this her seat?
Yes, this was her seat. Although she wasn't active in the assembly,
she was still there. Of course, at the last minute she withdrew.
I don't know how it happened that Chester Schneider was in there
instead of running against her. Actually, I seemed to be running
against her all the time. Because she was helping him. Yes, let's
check that out. I think she wouldn't resign for a long time after
she was sick.
Oh, so maybe this was a way to force her out.
your opponent?
But he was in fact
Yes, he was on the ballot although he still retained his city
council seat. He was a very prominent man, too. I was campaigning
against both of them the whole time. I know she was down there just
campaigning.
For him?
Yes.
And so you won?
Yes, but it was so close that I didn't know until after the baby was
born that night that I had won. I just was so surprised at the
close race. I had just assumed that I was going to win. [Sankary,
28,918; Schneider, 28,481]
38
Chall: And then what did you do?
Sankary: The baby! I hadn't had time to get ready for that child. I didn't
have any clothes for it; I didn't know how to handle a baby. And
they couldn't believe I didn't know anything about a baby. You
know usually you have time to work with a doctor ; He teaches you
things and arranges for a pediatrician and for circumcision, etc.
Chall: What did you do? Hire a housekeeper?
Sankary: Well, yes. I found a woman who was black and she was a great big
300-pounder and she was from one of the British islands in the
Caribbean. Anyway, she spoke with a British accent. She had a
huge vocabulary. She started helping me with this baby because
she'd had ten of them of her own. But I remember how I worried
about it because two months later I had to go to Sacramento and
leave that baby. He was born in November and I left in January.
Chall: What was this baby's name?
Sankary: Timothy. I worried because she was always falling down and I
was afraid she'd crush and kill that baby sometime. But she didn't
and she was wonderful ', she was just absolutely wonderful! She always
said, "Let's bathe him in sound." And that's what she did from the
moment that baby was born, all the time, whenever he was awake she
was talking to him. Or if she had to step out of the room she'd
turn on the TV so there was sound all the time. Because she did
bathe him in sound ; by the time he was one year old he had thirty
words in his vocabulary. She really gave me the idea of developing
his mentality.
Chall: She stayed with you then for quite a while?
Sankary: Yes, she did. I was up in Sacramento from January to June. Then
these friends of mine from L.A. called me. He was a doctor — owned
the Huntington Hospital — very wealthy people. He owned three
hospitals. He said, "A beautiful baby was born here and I want to
find a good home for this baby. Do you want to adopt it?" And I
remember shaking like this [demonstrates] while on the phone in
Sacramento. Adopt a baby! And yet I swore I was never going to
get pregnant again. I had suffered such embarrassment campaigning
with this big stomach! But I couldn't see raising an only child.
And the way he talked about this beautiful baby and beautiful
parents, I said, "Yes, I'll take the baby."
Chall: Another challenge.
Sankary: Yes. [Laughing] I think a week later I came down to L.A. and picked
up the baby from the hospital and adopted it.
Chall: So your children were raised almost as twins?
39
Sankary: Yes, right.
Chall: Is Timothy the only child you ever had naturally?
Sankary: Yes, and I never used anything but I just never got pregnant
again. We never did use any contraceptive of any kind because we
wanted children. Isn't that funny?
Chall: Yes, that is.
Sankary : So I was lucky to have two .
Chall: And did they get along well, the boys?
Sankary: They did until they turned about ten. Then they broke apart. Now
they're friends again — I think.
Chall: What's the younger one's name?
Sankary: Ronald. Gee, I'm getting ahead of myself. There are so many
things I left out.
Cnall: Well, back up whenever you're ready.
Sankary: Where was I?
Chall: When you did win, and you had your appointments to make to the
central committee, you were able to appoint one other woman and two
men, weren't you?
Sankary: I think so but I don't remember who I appointed. Friends who helped
me I guess in my campaign.*
Cnall: Did you have a cadre of good friends who really worked mailing out
your literature and helping?
Sankary: Yes, but there weren't more than six I'd say altogether. Just a
very small handful of us. And I paid them for their time.
Chall: Can you remember who they were?
Sankary: Dorothy Conte was my most loyal helper. Then there was Sue Farris
and her husband Bill. They were a young couple with a lot of
little babies and they'd walk with me door to door and hand out
literature. Then when I had to leave to go to the office, or do
*Bebe Banks, Fred Peterson, and Leo Latimer, listed in San Diego
Union. July 29, 1954.
40
Sankary: something else, they kept going and ringing doorbells. But I
paid everybody.
Chall: You didn't pay them, did you?
Sankary: Yes, I tried to pay all of them.
Chall: Is that right? That's always considered volunteer work.
Sankary: Yes, but I asked them to do it for me. I was so glad to have
someone to help me at all because there just weren't any volunteers
or party organization.
Chall: Well, go ahead with the other people now. We've got three.
Sankary: Those were the main ones. I can't remember very many others. There
was a man named Boas who is in the teacher's association now — I
think. I can't remember his first name. He helped me, too. Other
than that, these people would bring in their sisters, and their
children, and family members, everybody like that. We just walked
and walked and walked door to door.
Chall: You think you won on walking, on precinct walking?
Sankary: Yes. I had some little gimmicks. I bought some flower seeds and I
had the packages with my picture on it. It said, "Plant this seed
now for good government (which was the primary) and in the general
election these will be blooming to remind you of me again." Actually
people did plant them and some of them told me these zinnias grew
six feet tall and really were blooming in November! I used that
and a lot of leaflets. I also had a bumper sticker with a stork
flying, carrying a baby. It was just a subtle touch, with no words,
only my name on the sticker and in the corner this stork. I was
told later when I met others in the legislature who had had a
difficult campaign and were discouraged that they had used it as
their inspiration. Oh, I think I had a little TV.
Oh yes! There was another fellow I must mention. His name
is Bill Teawell, T-e-a-w-e-1-l . He was the owner of an advertising
agency, Teawell Advertising Agency. Since then he has merged with
that woman in New York. What's her name? That has that big adver
tising agency, the biggest one in the city of New York? [Mary Wells
of Wells, Rich, and Green]
[end tape 2, side A; begin tape 2, side B]
Sankary: He lost clients, advertising clients. He offered to help me — to do
my advertising for me. I think he did it without charge. I don't
know why. I'll never know why. But he was just intrigued by how
I was working and how I needed help. Even though he was Republican
41
Sankary: and everybody was critical of him he helped me. He made some TV
shorts for me. Boy, without that professional help I bet I wouldn't
have made it.
I hadn't seen him for many, many years. Recently, about a year
ago, I ran across him in a restaurant, the first time in about
twenty years. And, of course, he didn't have any teeth and his
hair is gone and everything. I hardly recognized him. But we had
such a warm reunion because I realized he really meant a lot to me.
I didn't then; I just took all this for granted I think. But now
when I look back, I don't know why he did it. Yes, you ought to
interview him and ask him. Mine was the only political campaign
his company had ever done.
Chall: Maybe you can ask him someday if you have another reunion. Let's
see, the primary is in June and in those days the central committee
met in August I believe.
Sankary: 1 don't know. I never went to the central committee meetings.
Chall: Do you recall anything? Did you never go to the central committee
meetings?
Sankary: Never. I've never been to one. I've never been to one to this
day. I've never been in politics! [Laughter] That's something
else!
Chall: That has nothing to do with winning a campaign. [Laughter]
Sankary: Yes. There just was no effective Democratic organization in
San Diego. They had no organization. They had no campaign money,
fundraisers, volunteers, newspaper, nothing; actually people didn't
get elected down there except Republicans. Oh, it's changed a lot
now. They have an organization ; they have campaign workers; they
have money. They never had any money at all.
Weekends at home with the Babies
Chall: Yes, in 1954 the Democrats were barely to be seen in California.
When you lived away from home in Sacramento...?
42
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall :
I went home every weekend,
couldn't tear myself away,
night on that plane.
That was absolute torture. Oh, I just
I cried all the way back every Sunday
Hard to go back to Sacramento?
Oh, yes. I just wasn't ready; I simply wasn't ready. Leaving the
baby. And increasingly as I came home, he didn't know me. He
wouldn't let me hold him because I was a stranger. Oh, this was
terrible. I can remember Timmy screaming when I held him. And I
was just as determined, "You got to get used to it; I'm your mother.
He just kept screaming. "Who's this stranger holding me?" [Ronnie
was born in June.]
The legislature then met for about six months every other year,
between was a short budget session.
In
Sankary: Well, that year we met until June — yes it was six months. Then I
went to San Diego. Then we came back I think, I don't know if there
was a special session or what it was called, but I was appointed to
the Transportation Committee, the Joint Senate and Assembly Committee
on Highways. I had to travel around the state on that. I had to go
to Sacramento for some time again about November as I recall. Then
the following year there was a short session.
Then something happened, which I guess I sort of regret. But I
got attached to my babies then at home. I really hated politics.
And I was paid only $500 a month and spent more than that on rent and
traveling home. I really hated it. I mean I didn't mind the work in
Sacramento, the committee work and the dealing with actual legisla
tion. But I began to dislike the lobbyists — the pressures from
them — and the pressures from people at home. Then the Republicans
always swiping at me. You know, it was a Republican newspaper, a
very conservative paper.
Chall: The San Diego Union?
Sankary: The San Diego Union and Tribune (the Copely press). They were just
very rabid right, conservatives. It wasn't a fair paper; it really
wasn't truthful at that time, at least. Also I had nasty phone
calls and letters from people that I never had met saying all these —
Chall: This was while you were —
Sankary: In office.
Chall: The two years?
IN GOVERNMENT
42a
State Assemblywoman
TRIUNE SEP 161955 '
<Leaas Mothers Busy Life
*f By BETTY PEACH
• iTwo small bo.ys and a house
"full of carpenters and paint- 1
ers help keep Wanda Sankaryj
bnsy these days, tt . £ J \
• !Tn between decisions on wall
colors and drapery fabrics, the
state assemblywoman for 79th
District dashes to Los Angeles
lor meetings of some of the five
committees on which she
lerves in the legislature.
The petite freshman legisla
tor ard her law-partner hus
band Morris Sankary are vir
tually camping out in the big
Elizabethan home they recent
ly purchased near iitate Col-j
lege.
Move* PIH
Outride . a small rkip-loader
groans sway as it moves dirt
from the side lawn where a|
swimnr'ng pool is being dug
Ir the kitchen, carpenters
pound away at remodeling
cabinets; the dinir.g room,
naked of furniture, is littered
with plaster torn away to rr.ak*
room for a big picture win
dow facing onto the gaping hole
lor the swimming pool; buckets
:of pink and lavender paint,
and painters' canvas clutter
the hall.
Happy gurgles of 10-month-
old Timothy echo from the
vaulted ceiling in the living
room, stripped of furniture ex-j
cept lor a built-in window seat;
overlooking the dying garden.
Remodeling Clutter
There, serene in all the clut
ter of remodeling, sits the
dark - eyed attorney, playing
With her sor..
"It's going to be just won-
der'ul when we are finished."
says Wanda, indicating the
emptiness. "We just love ii
already. Perfect location
walking distance to kindergai-
ten ?nd college."
The Sankary s purchased the
first house they looked at, al
though they had previously
searched for land on which to
build. The house has a pan
eled library, already filled
with law books, downstairs.
There are three fireplaces,
live bedrooms, and four baths.
Growing Family
ELECTION BABY— Mrs. Morris Sankary holds her
10-month-old son, Timothy, born the day after she
was elected to the California state legislature.—
Evening Tribune Staff Photo
tature rums out as many as
Mrs. Sankary, one of three
women and the only woman
attorney In the legislature,
strongly believes that mor?
women should go Into politics.
Sensitive, Shy
"Women are by nature more
8.hy and sensitive, and a poli
tical fight is ro'igh. But wom-
'«n are needed in government,
cur growing family," Mrs.
Sankary explained. Besides
6,000 bills in the 120-day limit.
; She serves on live commit
tees — finance and insurance,
jodal welfare, industrial rela-
transportation, and judi
"We need a big house for| -where their very sensitivity is
'fn advantage at times. They
-are much more likely to
Timothy, born the day after' gcream about social injustices,
dishonesty and unfair prac
tices. I think they withstand
pressure groups better, too."
; Mrs. Sankary said the weight
••f work has increased tremen-
his mother was elected to the
assembly last November, the
Sankarys have adopted a 3-
month-old boy, Ronald Allen.
"We expect to have moro
children— our own, and adopt- ^.Jously since the constitution
«d," she aald. ' was written, and now the legis-
ciary, where she Is the first
woir.an to serve. She is the first
freshman on the transportation
committee.
The dynamic Mrs. Sankary
plans tt run for re-election
next year. This time, she hopes
her campaigning will be a bit
easier. Last summer, she won
the primary before anybody
knew she was expecting a
baby.
No Doubt
"But right after the primary.
I went east on business, and
when I came back in three
weeks, there was no doubt about
it.
"During the last four weeks
of the campaign, she ran into
physical difficulty. She under
went surgery on both hands,
and had them in casts, finger
tips to elbows, until a few days
before the elec tion.
As soon as the remodeling
is finished, Wanda plans to
plunge into the problem of re
doing the landscaping. Among
hobbies, gardening is her first
love, followed closely by co^k-
ing.
Evenings »t Home
"We both like to stay home
ievenings, and we usually lis
ten to records and read. I'm
not much on entertaining . . .
| mostly because I'm so busy
jvUtn people all day, I like to
'have my evenings with my
I family," she explained.
During the legislative ses
sions, Mrs. Sankary ' takes a
small apartment in Sacramen
to, and comes home each week
end. This keeps her on the go
constantly, as her work in Sac
ramento often runs well ov<
eight hi urs a day.
But s.ie likes it well encug
to run for re-election. She lea
ly has only one complaint -
not enough time to look afte
everything she is interested in.
43
Losing Candidate for California Assembly, 1956
Sankary: Yes, I was too sensitive. It all bothered me terribly. I hated
to tear myself away again from the family — the older these little
kids were getting — the more lovable. I had gotten attached to them.
So when it came time to campaign again everyone insisted that I do
go for reelection. So to please them I got on that ballot. But
I campaigned hardly at all. And I should just have stopped politics
and held my own. But my husband and everybody said, "Well, you're
going to let everybody down if you don't run again." But, for exam
ple Governor Brown backed the Republican against me, instead of a
Democratic incumbent!
Chall: He, Pat Brown? [Edmund G. Brown, Sr.]
Sankary: Pat Brown who later was governor?
Chall: Yes. Pat Brown didn't become governor until '58. He was the
attorney general from 1950-1958. Earl Warren and Goodwin Knight
were Republican governors while Pat Brown was the attorney general —
the only Democrat among the Republican at the top state level.
Sankary: It was as attorney general that he supported George Crawford who won
my seat. I was so bitter about that.
Chall: And who was [George] Crawford?
Sankary: He was a nothing, really a nothing, either before, or after his elec
tion, or after he was appointed judge by Brown. He was a miserable
judge in my opinion. For example, the putting of an old woman in
jail on Christmas eve for a minor infraction. Every action and word
about me was dishonest and unconscionable in his ruthless campaign.
Those attracted to work in his campaign were of the same "tricky-dicky"
ilk.
Chall: Did Brown not endorse you and endorse Crawford, or did he just not
endorse you?
Sankary: No, he endorsed Crawford. He came out in newspaper articles in
favor of him. I think I have those. At least this is my memory of
it. I was trying to avoid all this unpleasantness. I wouldn't
read the papers; I didn't cut anything out. I lost all that. I
just closed myself off. I didn't want a campaign; I didn't want
any more of that unpleasantness. I was so unhappy. I just didn't
want to see anyone. I didn't want to read the papers so I missed a
lot of news that year.
Chall: What kind of campaign were your friends running for you this time?
Did they just take it up and do it without your help?
44
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall :
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary;
Chall :
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Yes, they were doing it. Mostly labor tried to help me. Another
thing: I felt I had always voted in favor of the colored people.
I went for anything that would help the poor and the blacks. Yet
they could be bought out so easy I found. They seemed to — I don't
know, they didn't vote for me. At least, I would think that had
they voted for me, I would have won.
Did you campaign in the black neighborhoods and the churches?
I did the first time. I did little campaigning in the second time.
I really didn't work like I did the first time. I probably could
have gotten elected if I had....
Yes, I think you have to campaign.
Yes; I didn't.
You can't sit back. Particularly as a first termer.
And they, the Republicans, had all the other seats in our county.
So they spent $60,000 — which in those days was a lot of money — on
Crawford's campaign to defeat me. That money talked and there was
so much falsehood,
people!
So much that wasn't true. Oh, I can't believe
Despite the fact that you weren't reading the paper, you knew that
was a vicious campaign?
Yes, the things they were saying that weren't true. Like this: my
husband had died in the service, my first husband. I remember "Mr.
San Diego," the top Republican, O.W. Todd, Jr. , saying in speeches
over and over, "She voted against the veterans1 bills." And any
body who cared to look could see that I voted always for the veteran's
benefits. Why would he sell his soul as cheaply as this?
So you were doing minimal campaigning and you were not practicing
law, or were you? By that time, you didn't have much of a prac
tice.
No, I wasn't practicing law.
Were you staying at home?
I stayed home with the kids.
Was your housekeeper still with you?
Yes, not the one I had at first. No, that one left, although we
visited together. I'd moved into another house and it had stairs
and she was so heavy and couldn't climb them. Actually, my poor
Sankary: husband had three women living in there when I was in Sacramento.
When I came home then we never had a moment ' s privacy; I figured
with two babies, you can't just have one woman. [Laughing] I had
to make sure they were all well taken care of. So I hired all
these others. They were live-in. One was a student at San Diego
State, and she took care of the babies and therefore was part-time
help; one would look after the house, and one would cook for them.
Chall: Your husband must have been sort of a gem to put up with that and
to have allowed you to go off on a career of this kind.
Sankary: Yes, he was most unusual. In a lot of ways after I was in the
second campaign, he tried to help me. Then he took the time to try
and help me. But I really didn't want it and I was just being an
ostrich.
Chall : Was he aware of how torn you were about what you really preferred?
Sankary: Oh, yes, yes.
Chall: That you actually did want to be — I don't know whether you wanted
to be a full-time mother — but you wanted to be at home?
Sankary: And I didn't want all the difficulty, the painful things they were
saying about me. There was no way to combat it, because it took
so much money and for something I really didn't want.
The Copely newspapers were against me. There was no way to
get a decent article in the paper — in favor. They just wouldn't
cooperate with anything. Anything good I did in Sacramento was
blacked out in San Diego. The L.A. papers, the other papers in the
state would have a picture of Mrs. Sankary, who had introduced such
and such a bill. In San Diego — not a word. That whole time I was
in Sacramento they just blacked me out. They were really rotten.
And if they could find anything bad, and always if anyone's had
anything to say about me that was detrimental, that would be
splashed all over — blown up.
Chall: Deliberate?
Sankary: Yes, they're very rotten.
Dedicated Mother
Chall: When you decided that you really didn't want to go back, what had
you in mind? That you would stay at home and also practice law?
You intended to go back to your practice?
A5a
Same letter to Mr. Eugene Williams, Evening Tribune
March 26, 1955
Mr. Richard Pourade
City Editor
San Diego Union
San Diego, California
Dear Mr. Pourade i
I aa writing to you concerning two Matters.
The first one relates to an article that has appeared about a
stand I took on a bill in the State Assembly which would change the
community property laws. I feel that a statement from me should be
printed in explanation of any stand, as follows t
"I feel that until there is a court determination that the
abandonment or desertion by a wife of her husband is unjustifiable. The
green light signal should not be given to the husband to disburse community
property funds."
"There are approximately seven million women in California and I
feel that as one of the three women legislators I should be concerned with
the welfare of women. "
The second matter I am writing about concerns several pictures
that were taken of me by the Associated Press with Mr. Durkee, Mr. Spears
of the State Highway Commission, Mr. Klaus of the San Diego Chamber of
Commerce at Sacramento which were forwarded to you along with a story. These
pictures never appeared in the paper and it is hard for me to understand why
something that appears so newsworthy to the Associated Press people in
Sacramento seldom gets the same attention in San Diego.
I want to thank you very much for what cooperation you have given
M sad will appreciate anything you do in the future.
x
If there are any particular issues concerning San Diego County
that you are interested in forward your opinion on and I will five the
matter my fullest attention.
I may also say that I had a meeting by appointment with Mr*
Ed Wallace, the State Highway Engineer and I am getting data and information
to present to the State Highway Commission on April 21, in my continued
fight to have the improvement of Highway 80 come about at long last.
Tsry truly yours.
Wanda Sankary
WSti
46
Chall:
Sankary :
Sankary: Yes. But especially I felt that I wanted to raise those children
myself rather than have someone else raising them. I wanted to
create extraordinary men out of the boys. With one I succeeded
and the other one, part-way. I think Timmy is really I'd say a
most extraordinary man. He is a fantastic human being. This was
by design.
Chall: Timmy 's your first, the first born?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: And he's now?
Sankary: He's twenty-two and he's in med school in San Francisco. But he
just happened to have a very good brain, a genius brain. I gave
him all the exposure that anyone ever had. Every year for how many
years, I think for eleven years, when he was six years old I started
this: Every summer we spent in a foreign country; he's been all
over the world many times.
You and he, and your husband, and your other child?
Yes, the first few years my husband came along, but the two boys
and I always went abroad, for eleven years. Then in the teen years
they didn't travel with me anymore. Timmy travels all the time.
Last February a year ago, he had a reservation to go to South
America to "Carnival at Rio." He'd been thinking about that for
a long time. He arranged his school schedule and so forth. The
night that I was helping him pack — the night before he left, I got
so excited that I left on the plane the next day with him [laugh
ing] . Unprepared, completely — I didn't have the right clothes or
anything!
Chall: Did you have a good time?
Sankary: I stayed in South America one month with him and he stayed another
two months alone, altogether three months. He just travels in
depth. I couldn't stand more than a month. It's really rough in
those countries that are so poor. Very, very hard traveling. I
got so tired I had to come home. But he's just a great traveler.
In addition, I gave him every kind — both of them — of lesson
that existed. I started out with horseback riding. And they had a
little French — conversational French in pre-school classes where
they learned to sing in French and use some French words. Every
thing — you can't name anything they didn't have — judo, piano,
guitar, organ, swimming, golf, sailing, snow skiing, water skiing,
sax, clarinet, dancing, everything.
Chall: They didn't feel pressured?
47
Sankary: I suppose they did; I suppose they felt that they should be playing
more than taking all of these lessons. But those kids were exposed
to every kind of interest and broadening influence I could think of.
Chall: You started to travel when they were how old?
Sankary: Six.
Chall: Six, so that was really almost before all the charter flights.
Sankary: Yes, it cost a fortune. I remember our first trip to Europe we
had to borrow the money. It was $8,000. This again shows how
wonderful my husband was to go along with all of this stuff.
I was going to concentrate on achievement and developing of
their minds. So I gave them all kinds of lessons. They both played
the piano like concert pianists by the time they were fourteen.
Unfortunately, I guess I pushed too hard because neither one of them
plays the piano now. But in the five years — they started when they
were about nine I guess, and they took about five years of lessons.
I spent two hours a day, one hour with each child. I'd sit there
and watch them practice. And make sure they practiced the way the
teacher wanted them to.
If I had spent two hours at the piano myself, I'd be enjoying
the piano now! I don't play. [Laughter] I'd drive them to their
golf lessons or whatever; I'd sit in the car for hours. I really
concentrated on those boys in every possible field. Such dedication
and devotion!
Chall: How were you practicing law at the same time?
Sankary: No, I didn't then until they started kindergarten. Then I'd go
half -days. I always was home before they, at three o'clock. All
through their schooling I always was home by three.
This one kid Timmy turns out to have a real brain, being very
bookish and intellectual. But he's also well-rounded and a charming,
witty conversationalist. He has taken the trouble of thanking me,
saying, "Gee, you've just given me every kind of lesson there was."
He can compare himself now to other people. They could do the five
strokes in swimming when about seven. Tim excelled in everything.
He was admitted to about every med school in the country. Duke
University that chooses only three college grads per year for their
special six year medical-legal program, chose my Timmy as one of the
three in the country. However, he couldn't see himself living in
that small, quiet town. All through his college training he indulged
in fantastic outside activities. He was given during his three
years at UCSD a lab at Salk Institute for a special cryogenics
experiment he was working on. He flew into Mexican villages working
48
Sankary: with the Flying Samaritans (a group of doctors taking turns flying
in with a tiny mono-plane) . His accomplishments are too numerous to
mention here. He deserves a book of his own, already.
Chall: Sophisticated, I suppose.
Sankary: Very. He's very interesting. I wish you could meet him. I hope
you do.
Chall: I will perhaps someday. What about the second boy, the younger one?
Sankary: Well, now Ronnie — the thing that happened with Ronnie, and I feel
very bad about it — I made some mistakes. I didn't realize that Tim
would so overshadow him and everyone else his age. You know, nobody
can compete with Timmy in books and intellectual things. So Ronnie
began to feel that he wasn't as good. He doesn't have the self-esteem
or the confidence. He doesn't think that he's as good. And yet he
is as good and better than Tim in many many ways. There were things
Ron could do well that Tim couldn't. In sports for example no one we
knew, even older children, could hold a candle to Ron in any sport.
While in grammar school he could catch a football on the run being
thrown to him by an adult at a long long distance, just incredibly.
His golf teacher made a special excursion to tell me he's the great
est golf student he'd had in years! Ron was about eight. He just
raved and raved. As a tiny crawling baby he'd push himself into the
swimming pool, sink, be dragged out, screaming and kicking to repeat
it until he could swim and stay on top — he was still a baby under
eighteen months !
Also as a baby he was far more innovative than others. At one,
he rolled up a newspaper and shoved it through a small hole in the
dryer to the pilot light at the back and got himself a flaming torch.
Somehow when he was about one he opened a new, unopened green paint
can and painted the bed and mattress. He could always handle the
TV knobs to get the best reception when none of us could; and he
loved to combine a few broken toys to invent one good new one that
operated.
But most of all, Ronnie has the personality, showing considera
tion for others, as no one else I know. His is a natural social
grace, evident since infancy: more kind, more affectionate, and more
loving than others, and too sensitive.
At this time he isn't in college or doing anything special. I
hope he finds himself yet. But it's psychological with him. He
feels, "Tim is doing so_ much and I can't compete and so I'm not
even going to try." I imagine that's what happens.
Chall: That's a real problem because if they were both taking lessons, and
the same lessons at the same time, and one was excelling all the time..
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary:
No, they were equal at lessons I took them to. But intellectual
achievement was all too much. He wasn't ready to study and books.
Our schools aren't geared for all kinds of children. A failure
there is damaging.
One never knows all that at the time.
No.
It's like raising
different.
twins. And they weren't twins so they would be
Yes. And different talents. So not having had children before,
I say now to my psychologist, "Why in the world didn't I seek some
advice?" I went to the school counselors but they weren't even
psychologists. He says because in those days there really wasn* t
anyone advising you about things like this.
And you may not have sought advice because you felt you had always
done something on your own and succeeded.
Succeeded. And yet he's got £p_ many talents that were developed. If
he ever catches on, where he wants to do something, where he gets a
drive he'll set the world on fire. That's Ronnie.
Is he working?
He works at various things. He's a very good cook. So he can
always get a job in a restaurant, for instance. He paints houses
very well. He does everything very well. His employers always
like him. In fact, he says he's going to go back to the piano.
Tim says, "I'll never play it again. I don't care about it. I'm
moving on to other things." But Ronnie says he'll go back to piano.
And oh, he was the best! The teacher said that he would play things
better or as well as any concert pianist; he was just eleven or
twelve.
Does he like music?
Yes, he plays the guitar. That he got on his own without any
pressures from me. He learned to play it very well.
He's only about twenty-one?
Yes.
He still needs a little time.
And he always was a little immature it seemed to me, because Tim
was a serious forty year old at eight. He never was as mature as
Timmy. He was a playful, exploring, daring, devilish child. So I
think that may make a difference. Also he's rather small. He feels —
he's shy about being small.
50
Chall: How small?
Sankary: He's no taller than I and small-boned. And Tim is very tall.
Chall: That's not so terribly small.
Sankary: No, but compared to Timmy he always felt unhappy about height.
Chall: Yes, his brother; it would be hard.
Sankary: Yes, psychologically. I didn't realize what was happening to him,
that he was becoming depressed.
Chall: Well, he'll probably come along.
Sankary: I hope so.
Chall: If he's bright and intelligent.
Sankary: He is that. He learns fast, has a prodigious memory and had a
vocabulary of a ten year old when he was five. Are you getting
tired?
Chall: Not terribly, but we'll stop when we finish this tape, in just a
few minutes.
[end tape 2, side B]
[The following was added by Wanda Sankary when she reviewed the
transcript. ]
Sankary: Besides raising children, and practicing law, my life with Morrie
was very full and rich.
Dancing is my first love (I had won the Great Waltz competition
as a teenager), and Morrie learned to dance exceptionally well. We
had a very active social life: playing bridge, sailing; we went to
symphonies, and operas, and ballets, and plays, sometimes driving
the 130 miles to L.A. and back in one evening for special things
like the Moiseyev Dancers or a ballet. We went to Shakespeare at
the Old Globe, Laguna Arts Pageant of the Masters. Morrie dragged
me to too many art shows being a talented artist himself. This all
began when we were at a Realists exhibit and he told me to pick one
to buy. I picked one of a grey vase on a table. When he looked
closely at the price and saw it was $5,000, he said, "Hell, I'll
paint you one myself!" So he signed up for a class listed as
"landscapes," but the first night in it he discovered it was instead
a life class! As the nude sat down on the stage in front of him, he
got so rattled he could hardly paint. Yet I have that first picture,
and it's good.
51
Sankary: We spent wild nights bouncing on the dark desert in a dune buggy
(with 10,000 others out there increasing the hazards); went to many
seances and meetings with mediums; went to black tie splendid private
dinners with Old La Jollans ostentatiously displaying their wealth,
outdoing each other.
We took trips without the children to many obscure countries
and places on some wild deal or scheme some client had brought in.
There were constant exciting deals which made our practice far more
interesting and varied than any other in town. He had a reputation
of trying any new idea or device. And the inventors came to us.
None of these "big deals" ever came through and would make a thick
book. There are files on at least 200 of them. But with each one,
there was the fun, the excitement, the anticipation, and the dream of
becoming billionaires. Morrie has an international practice because
of the deals taking him into nearly every country of the world. Most
of the time he went alone, staying away as long as two months.
One time I had invited seventy-five guests for his birthday
party. Unfortunately he had to be in Milan, Italy. He called home
that night and after he spoke with everyone who wanted to talk to
him, his bill was astronomical. The next time he called home during
a party, he was only as far away as Houston. When I asked, "Do you
want to say hello to them?" he quickly said, "No!" and hung up.
We had lots of money and he showered me with jewels and clothes.
Once when I came back from Europe he had a little red Lotus Europa
sports car in the garage for me. You had to be a contortionist to
get into it. But it did create a lot of attention. When it stopped
for me one day on the freeway, and I learned I couldn't get parts for
it in America, I left it there and never saw it again. It got towed
away. I had driven it only three times. Some would say I was extra
vagant or spoiled, but what money I threw away was a fraction of what
his dissipation of it was.
There were trips to New York seeing all of the theater we could
squeeze in; a trip to Washington D.C. to be admitted before the U.S.
Supreme Court together; a trip to Cape Kennedy to watch the launching
of Apollo X about 1965. This was certainly one of the greatest
thrills of my life: the intense heat, the shaking earth, the roar,
the awesomeness of that monstrous rocket weighing thousands of tons
nearly as tall as the Empire State Building, slowly lifting off and
going into the vastness. In it were three astronaut friends with
whom we had spent the night before in their quaranteened quarters,
one of whom I later met in 1975 in Kiev where I had a private break
fast with him and the Cosmonauts after the Apollo-Soyez link-up,
when our travels crossed accidentally.
We had other marvelous trips together, without our children:
to Mexico City and Acapulco on our honeymoon; Waikiki before it was
discovered , when the birds and the breeze and the Moana Royal Hawaiian
52
Sankary: were the only things there; to Belize, British Honduras; through
Central America; to Germany with a chauffered limo all ours; to
Washington D.C. for the Johnson inauguration. I was so overcome by
the president's face close to mine while he held my hand that when
he asked my name I completely forgot what it was.
We had memorable trips as a family too — Europe, Asia, and Canada
when my jaws were bulging with mumps; magnificent, unbelievable
Victoria Falls and Uganda in Africa; and the Matterhorn in the
moonlight; mixed-sex swims in Japanese pools and one unanticipated
midnight landing on the very airstrip where twenty-nine years earlier
my pilot husband, Allen, had crashed in Nandi, Fiji Islands. The
terminal was then his BOQ, and the garden behind it was where he was
buried. This was an unexpected emotional visit with my past.
Besides trips, our life together seems in retrospect extra
ordinary in many ways. At least our combination seemed to create a
richness and excitement of existence by which other lives pale.
Those were the halcyon days. And I know that there is a special
feeling between us in a part of our hearts that no one can destroy,
and memories, priceless treasures, that will never be taken away
from us.
53
III EXPERIENCES AS A LEGISLATOR, 1954-1956
[Interview 2: December 12, 1977]
[begin tape 3, side A]
First Days: The Heated Campaign for Assembly Speaker
Chall: Let me ask you first today, your recollections of going to
Sacramento and organizing your office and staff — because that would
have been an interesting start to your career.
Sankary: After I was elected the first thing I became aware of was strangers
contacting me with a sales pitch — either for Smith [H.Allen] or for
Lincoln [Luther] — neither of whom I had met — both of whom were
Republicans. I really didn't see the tremendous importance of
whichever one got elected [as Speaker]. I would have been for
neither one.
The greatest help I had had in my campaign, I guess, was from
the labor organizations. Mr. Frank Luckel, who was also a stranger
to me — a Republican, and a San Diegan, and a very kind man — when
he came to me, as did the labor leaders separately, urging Lincoln
to be supported because he supposedly was a moderate, and a decent,
and an honest person — this appealed to me. Also the fact that I was
gaining some real respect for Mr. Luckel. I sensed that he would be
a friend and I was certainly right. I became very close to him all
through the legislative term. Long after I was defeated we kept up
a correspondence and were close. I loved him very much.
He and those who were for Lincoln induced me to make a commit
ment. There was a Mr. [William] Munnell who later became quite a
powerhouse in the assembly — who also came down to San Diego and spoke
for Mr. Lincoln.
Chall: Those people came to you in San Diego before you had even gone up
to the legislature in Sacramento?
54
Sankary: Immediately. Oh, yes, immediately after the election. Just within
days. I didn't have a chance to recover at all and I was inundated.
So I made the commitment feeling secure in that Lincoln was spoken
of so highly and Smith not quite as highly.
Then the other side started on me — including Mr. [Sheridan]
Hegland whom I had considered a good friend and whom I still consider
a good friend. But at the time I was elected I was too naive to
realize that his policies and politics were on opposite poles from
mine. We never agreed on anything politically. He was really a
conservative and it may be that his district demanded that. I don't
know.
Chall: He was a freshman legislator too.
Sankary: At the same time. We were both put on the cover of San Diego
Magazine together, then called "Point," [chuckles] and so we were
supposedly very close but as it turned out we were very far apart.
He and [Jack] Schrade were always on the opposite sides of Mr. Luckel
and myself. I drove to Sacramento on my first trip up there with all
my clothes — alone — and arrived there at about 11:00 at night. I just
got into the hotel when the phone rang, which it continued to do,
until three or four in the morning with people insisting on coming to
talk to me to try to change my vote, my commitment to —
Chall: They knew that you had committed yourself to Lincoln by then?
Sankary: And all that time I had never talked to Mr. Lincoln at all. I
never met him. So I stayed firm because in the first place I'm
not the kind that wavers. I made up my mind and I felt secure in it.
I didn't get any sleep and early in the morning I had a very early
appointment with someone — several actually. Someone took me to break
fast early and through that whole meal, gave me the pitch of why I
must change. I just kept my ground. I think that the Chamber of
Commerce representative was one of the toughest.
Then I recall people telling me later in the legislature —
strangers that I didn't know — were sitting in the restaurant listen
ing to this going on without my realizing it. They told me later
that that was their first impression of me and they were most im
pressed. Even though they were for Smith, they didn't realize they
were getting someone as strong as I when I was elected. They thought
of me as a little mother with a newborn baby and that I was a wishy-
washy, easy-going thing that could be pushed one way or the other.
This really changed their minds .
Then Mr. Lincoln got his appointment and had a little reception.
I went and sort of got acquainted. I think that was the first night
with the legislators. I never met the women at all. [Pauline Davis,
Dorothy Donahoe] I don't know how they voted. I don't recall them
r • v: —
dependent San Diego Newsweekly
January 13, 1955
wo Demos
rom S. D.
-Page 6
iotcl dels
jreat Chef
m -Page 8
Peace,
>ays FRA
m -Page 10
— Bob Pauline Photo
Two S. D. Democrats:
New Laws Coming
WHEN the gavel signals the
opening session of the Legisla
ture in Sacramento this week the San
Diego County delegation — for the first
time in 12 years— will include two
Democrats.
How they got there, and why is old
news now. But last Nov. 2 the elector
ate in two assembly districts did break
through the elephant hide curtain.
They elected attorney Wanda Sankary
in the 79th District, and businessman
Sheridan Hegland in the 77th.
That being the case, what may San
Diego County expect from its neophyte
Democrats laboring in a vineyard so
long strictly Republican? How will
their votes, their committee work, the
legislation they introduce and their
speeches differ from the G.O.P. stal
warts they succeeded? What sort of
individuals are they? And how will
San Diego County like the change,
if any?
POINT set out last week to find the
answers to these questions by probing
the freshmen assemblymen themselves
on the eve of their departure for
Sacramento (see cover).
A discussion of legislation in the
labor field brought indications that
both Assemblyman Hegland and As
semblywoman Sankary want to see
laws which will benefit the lowest paid
groups and which tend to foster fair
dealing both for labor and manage
ment. There will be opposition to
"union busting" legislation.
In this respect S. D. can expect a
sharp contrast between Hegland and
his predecessor, who favored the ex
treme right wing brand of Republican
ism. Not so in the case of the 79th
District Mrs. Sankary*s stand on
legislation may turn out to be not too
different from that of her predecessor,
Katherine Niehouse, who tended to a
liberal brand of Republicanism.
MRS. SANKARY who shares a San
Diego law office with her attorney-
husband, gave birth to a baby boy the
day after her election to the State
6 Point Newsweekly, Jan. 13, 1955
Assembly. The Sankary baby, almost
as controversial as actress Helen Hayes*
famous "act of God" offspring, was a
peg upon which his mama's opposition
hung many a campaign pitch. It stood
to reason — to hear them tell it — that,
either mother Wanda would neglect
the Assembly or Assemblywoman San
kary would neglect the baby.
Unperturbed, mother and child
gained national notice via a post-elec
tion photograph in Life Magazine and
Mrs. Sankary informed the press her
own career-girl mother has reared six
children. Her husband's career-girl
mother reared nine. Both attorneys
"turned out well" as they say back in
Keokuk.
THERE is no hesitation by Mrs.
Sankary as to her first official act in
Sacramento. "On the first day," she
says, "I'll submit a resolution to com
mend Mrs. Niehouse on her long, ac
tive career in the assembly and for her
good works in behalf of San Diego."
Mrs. Sankary says she doesn't have
harbors or industry in the 79th District,
but she does have State College and is
desirous of giving State "the greatest
expansion it has ever had in the history
of the district."
Assemblywoman Sankary refuses to
buy the anti-state-colleges argument
that these government institutions
should be held down to 5,000 enroll
ments.
Education, she thinks, can be
achieved more cheaply in greater con
centration. UCLA, she points out, has
a tremendous campus population and
few question that its facilities are
superb.
"It's hard enough to obtain sufficient
school space as it is," says Mrs. San
kary, "without attempting to create
new campuses for every 5,000 students.
Besides, the larger the school, the more
it has to offer. The argument that
small schools offer more opportunity
for participation is not entirely valid
when you realize that these youngsters
are being trained to take their places
Wanda Sankary
in a competitive world. They will not
be making their way in neat little
towns carefully held down to a popula
tion of 5,000, or 50,000, or what have
you.
"For San Diego State College, I
want to see more land, more buildings,
more students and more emphasis on
industrial engineering. We should en
deavor to pinpoint student training to
ward the needs of this aircraft industry
town."
MRS. SANKARY would like to see
legislation introduced which will tax
land that is at this point sitting around
unimproved. Tax it, she says, accord
ing to its rental value. "A valuable lot,
to make up an example, at Fifth and
Broadway, should be a terrific source
of revenue, whether it has a building
on it or not People holding on to
speculative land should not be permit
ted to do so at the expense of the
rest of us."
Mrs. Sankary is going to take an
active part in encouraging old age pen
nons, creating child care centers (State
subsidized) and the construction of
mough schools to eliminate delin-
juency breeding half -day sessions.
• She wants to see an investigation of
inemployment compensation.
"Some people say that a fraction of
me per cent put in false claims for
ompensation," says Mrs. Sankary.
'Others who are anti-compensation say
hat 25 per cent put in false claims,
t is hard for me, personally, to believe
hat a quarter of all the working peo-
>le are crooks. I think we should run
his down for the good of all."
Democratic Assemblywoman San-
ary will plug for a good cheap source
f water for San Diego. She thinks the
eather River plan being considered
ow represents fantastic expense. "We
: ay $8 to $10 an acre-foot for Colo-
ido River water," she points out.
rhe Feather River deal (bringing
• ater down from Tehachapi Moun-
" lin) would cost $50 an acre-foot. I
: Jieve we should study the possibilities
• ' converting sea water."
' Mrs. Sankary will seek seats on edu-
. ition, social welfare, and government
organization committees. Her pro-
ssion will make a spot on the judici-
:: ;y committee automatic.
ASSEMBLYMAN Sheridan Heg-
•nd is well known locally as a former
*wspapennan (ex-owner-publisher of
'e La Mesa News and pictorial) and
Jiddle-of-the-road Democrat. He
• 'presents the 77th District, which he
Ascribes as "suburban and rural"
^Therefore, one of my vital concerns
>a more equitable distribution of the
'" <sts of school construction."
Hegland feels that in this regard
.jcdominantly residential areas lacking
Stories and/or community wealth,
.-.': overly burdened assessment-wise.
Though school operational expenses
": shared— California paying 45 per
54c
Sheridan Hegland
cent, taxpayers 55 — Hegland thinks it
"manifestly unfair" that property own
ers in districts like his pay a great deal
more than in Los Angeles and San
Francisco, for instance, where there is
"tremendous assessed value behind each
youngster."
Therefore Sheridan Hegland will co-
sponsor a bill predicated on splitting
school construction costs between state
and local levels.
HEGLAND'S "top interest" for San
Diego County, however, is the crea
tion of what he calls "highways of the
ocean" from Canada to Mexico. These
will consist of small boat recreational
harbors in the Oceanside and Carlsbad
area on the northern San Diego County
coast, and at National City and Chula
Vista, on San Diego Bay.
For the boat-drivers who hover about
in inland waters, Hegland wants the
marine highways financed by either
outright grants from impounded tide-
lands oil money or via 100 year loans
from that fund to the commission.
Gas taxes finance operations of this
nature at the present time.
Hegland also wants Highway 80 im
proved and a "Del Mar Bypass" built
from Highway 101 somewhere north
of Solana Beach and several miles east
of the race track, to proceed south
ward through Murphy Canyon.
AT LEAST three bills will be in
troduced by Mr. Hegland. One in
behalf of the Vista Chamber of Com
merce, will propose a vote on creation
of a "Palomar County," by splitting
San Diego County.
Hegland says he will fight hard to
put over the point that democracy
holds for north county people. If the
majority of the people up there sign
a petition to secede— he will back them
one hundred per cent.
"I have no opinion one way or the
other," Hegland says, "I live in south
county. But— with the boundary at
Camp Miramar— I will help the citi
zens of Del Mar, Fallbrook, Encinitas,
Vista, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Escondido,
Ramona— to elect their own officials
and govern themselves— if that's the
way most of them want it."
Pondering one state agency which
met behind locked doors and held up
the minutes of its meeting- for 11 days,
Hegland says he will introduce a sec
ond bill forbidding state boards, com
missions, and Senate and Assembly
committees from meeting secretly.
He will also plug for legislation can
celling pensions for state employees or
legislators convicted of a felony if the
crime arises out of official respon
sibilities.
In conclusion Hegland emphasizes,
"I will never vote to support a deficit
budget (presently going in the red
$10,000,000 a month. California for
the fiscal year is expected to achieve
a total deficit of $120,000,000). Taxes
are already too high."
Point Newsweekly, Jan. 13. 1955 7
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall :
Sankary :
55
there that night but that was my first contact with many of the other
legislators. Of course, Schrade and Hegland, whom I knew, were not
there. So I was a stranger among them all, and Mr. Lincoln was very
nice. I was even more impressed after I met him. He said, "Thank
you" very graciously without being gushy or proud. But then, when it
came time — and I never asked for a committee — he put me on more
committees than any other freshman legislator in history they said.
[Laughs ]
I got a lot of flak from the newspapers and everyone for voting
for Mr. Lincoln. He was against the lobbyists' control pretty much.
He was a very upstanding man I found out afterwards. Then, in addi
tion, even though he was the so-called northerner [northern
California], he appointed 235 southerners to the committees and
only 169 northerners.* Not only that, people who voted against him,
like Schrade and Hegland, admit they got every committee they asked
for and more than they would have gotten if Smith had been elected
instead. It shows what a good decision I made. [Laughs]
It was quite a group of committee assignments you received.
**
Yes, I didn't ask for any of them that I recall. But he just kept
putting me on one committee after another, and people were so amazed
because it hadn't been done. I hadn't even thought about committees.
But I found that was a mixed blessing because I worked until about two
o'clock in the morning every night. Committee hearings were at night.
They started at three o'clock in the afternoon and you were in session
all day and then committee hearings until midnight — every night because
I had so many committees. Every night.
Did the men work as hard on the committees as you did?
Yes, but I don't know another person that had as many or more
committees than I was on. So at first blush in the legislature — being
a newcomer — this was extremely hard. Not being familiar with the
routine at all.
We were assigned offices and secretaries. I got a very sweet
young girl and I felt that someone was really thinking kindly toward
me to give me her. Whoever chose her for me felt that she was right
for me.
Chall: She'd had enough experience so she could help you?
**
Total of all committee appointments. Each person can be counted
several times — once for each of his committees. W.S.
k
Social Welfare, Finance and Insurance, Industrial Relations,
Transportation and Commerce, Judiciary.
.HITTEE CHAIRMAN / SECRETARY
|,0. ATLANTIC BLVD. /," .
HNCELES 22
MMITTEE MEMBERS
] (LIE) BACKSTRAND
HLD D. DOYLE
IST R. CEDDES
I J. MCFALL
California
ffimnmttto
• Vituutr? attln
; i V
v .SUBCOMMITTEE ON UNEMPLOYMENT
INSURANCE AND WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION
May 7, 1956
Hon. Wanda Sankary
Assemblywoman
312 Bank of America Bldg.
San Diego 1, California
Dear Wanda:
This will inform you that I have today
appointed you to the Subcommittee on Unemployment
Insurance and Workmen's Compensation which is currently
investigating youth employment opportunities.
You have been selected to serve on this
subcommittee because of your interest in youth problems
and youth activities. I know that you will make an
excellent contribution toward the accomplishments of
this subcommittee, particularly in solving the problems
of youth employment in our State.
Sincerely yours,
56
Sankary: Yes and she was helpful, and sincere, and trustworthy, and really
nice.
Chall: In those days all you got is one?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: You didn't have an administrative assistant or anything like that?
Sankary: No and we shared an office. I shared it with Mr. [Ralph M.] Brown,
from Modesto I think. We had to share an office.
Chall: Was that because you were Democrats?
Sankary: I don't know. I think they just didn't have enough. Actually we
were sharing a reception room with a little cubbyhole for us.
Throughout , neither of the other two women came to see me that I
recall or made any overtures. Whenever we were thrown together, when
a photographer would ask us to pose together, it was such a novelty
to me because I just didn't know those women at all.
Chall: Yet the three of you were Democrats.
Sankary: Yes, we were Democrats but we never associated and they somehow didn't
approach me. They were busy. They were both very hard-working women —
very hard working — and established.
Chall: Each of them had been in one term.
Sankary: Before that?
Chall: Yes, just one I think.
Sankary: Well, they seemed to know what they were doing and I felt that I was
fumbling around a little.
Chall: I think both of them had more experience with the legislature prior
to their becoming elected anyway than you had had.
Sankary: Yes, because I knew nothing about politics or the legislature at all.
I never knew anything!
Cnall: You must have had to learn under fire when you got there.
Sankary: Oh, did I ever. I learned about issues. Anything I said in my
campaign I educated myself about, but I had definite liberal,
progressive views to apply to each one as it presented itself to me.
I had a basic philosophy, but not too many facts when I started.
57
Chall: I do have campaign material that indicates that you were right on
top of issues — at least you stated them.
Making Decisions; Favors and Pressures
Chall: If during your campaign you would turn down somebody who said he would
help you if you would allow him to make an appointment when you got to
the legislature , the pressures on you to do certain things and to vote
certain ways, in order to get a vote for what you wanted — that must
have been something to cope with. Do you want to talk about that now
or at another time?
Sankary: I might as well.
Chall: All right, how did that feel to you?
Sankary: When I got letters for something I didn't agree with I wrote back
and honestly said I just didn't see it that way. Oh, I got some
very nasty letters and telephone calls all through. The experience
was sometimes really painful.
Chall: These were your constituents?
Sankary: Yes. Then Senator [Fred H.] Kraft who was a very tough character,
and well entrenched at the time, said — and I heard him say this in
many speeches — "If you don't support me in the campaign don't come
and ask me for anything." And he told me to act that way and I
gradually tried to learn to say this to somebody: "Where were you
when I needed you in my campaign? I don't agree with what you want
and you didn't help me. Why should I help you?" But I didn't do
it more than once or twice.
Chall: Did anybody advise you when you got in that the most important thing
to remember was that you wanted to get reelected?
Sankary: Nobody told me that so I did everything wrong as far as getting
reelected. The main fight that came along was a bill sponsored by
the medical society that would have prevented low cost prepaid
medical care, like the Kaiser Plan. I knew nothing about the Kaiser
Plan but the thing that struck me wrong, again [chuckles], was that
it wouldn't allow people to have this advantage with their medical
bills. It came before the Judiciary Committee and the whole darn
committee — before the committee met — was being lobbied by these
medical men and they had it solid. Everybody on that committee
seemed to say, "Let's give it to them" because apparently, without
saying it to me, they were getting campaign support.
57a
CLASS OP SERVICE
This is • fast menage
unless its deferred char
acter is indicated by the
proper symbol.
WESTERN UNION
TELEGRAM
W P MARSHALL. P...IOINT
SYMBOLS
D»y Letter
NL<= Night Utter
LT.
.International
"Letter Telegram
The filing time shown in the date line on domestic telegram* i* STANDARD TIME at point of origin. Time of receipt Is STANDARD TIME at point of destination
I
T
0* SDA 6 86
ASSEMBLY WOMAN WANDA SANKARY*
5955 MAR I? PM 5 2p
.StATE CAPITOL SACRWENTO CAL1P
'FIFTY OF MY EMPLOYEES ANDJPNO HUNDRED SAM DIE 60
ClTJZE"lis~8 UP PORTED BY THEM URGE YOUR SUPPORT OF / .
ASJEVTBLY BILL JQ 22?2 FEEUNG IT GIVES THE PUBLIC THE
ESSENTIAL PROTECTION 10 WHICH THEY ARE ENTITLED"
/EWART W GOODWIN PERCY H ftOODW}N C0«
THE COMPANY WILL APPRECIATE SUGGESTIONS FROM ITS PATRONS CONCERNING ITS SERVICE
58
Sankary: So I remember going to every person (individually) on the Judiciary
Committee and saying, "This is wrong and I want you to go against it
and do it as a favor for me." I think this was about the first thing
I ever asked of any fellow legislators. I turned that whole commit
tee around singlehandedly and they voted it down. When I walked out
of the committee that night — it must have been about midnight and I
was very tired. I never knew this man from Adam but he was a lobby
ist working, I think, for the California Medical Association. He
came over to me and he said, "Mrs. Sankary, I hope you sleep tonight
because you're not going to get reelected. I'm going to see to that.'
He said dreadful, other nasty things to me.
Sure enough, in the next campaign the county medical society —
all the big medical firms and clinics here — sent letters to every one
of their patients — every patient. I have copies of letters in which
they said not to vote for me. They really put out a campaign against
me because that bill didn't go through. The only reason we succeeded
is because they didn't know that just before the committee meeting I
did this little trick. They didn't know I was going to do it because
I didn't know until then myself. So they weren't prepared for my
action.
Chall: You were asking the Judiciary Committee what — to get this out onto
the floor?
Sankary: No, I was asking them to kill the bill.
Chall: Oh, to kill the bill.
Sankary: The bill was to prevent any such pre-paid medical care associations
from cropping up in California and we killed it dead.
Chall: It was a no-pass then.
Sankary: That's right. I didn't know I was going to do it until just before
the committee meeting. I was going through the bills as we were
sitting down to this committee meeting and on the spur of the
moment — before the committee met — when I could still move around
and talk to everyone individually, I got their attention on it.
Chall: Why, after all the pressures that had been on them for years? Why
would they turn around? This was a powerful lobby.
Sankary: I know. I think that the committee members probably did it just
for me, because they liked me, and I was new in the legislature, and
they were just doing me a favor.
Chall: Do you think so?
58a
REES-STEALY MEDICAL CLINIC
200! FOURTH AVENUE
SAN DIEGO 1. CALIFORNIA
INTERNAL MEDICINE
CLAIR L. STEALY. M.D.
WILLIAM C COOKE. M.D.
B H. SUNDBERG. M D
JOHN M. RUMSEY. M.D.
WILLIAM J. TICHE. M.D
HAROLD M MESSENGER. M D
HOMER D PEABOOY. JR., M D.
r. T. BERETTA. M.D.
WOODBJRY PERKINS. M.D
ALLERGY
GEORGE F. HARSH. M D
SURGERY
CLARENCE E. REES. M.D
MAURICE J BROWN. M.D.
BENJAMIN WOODWARD. M.D.
JOHN H. MEHNERT. M.D.
SURGERY ft UROLOGY
JAMES A. MAY. M.D.
ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY
F. BRUCE KIMBALL. M.D
PHILIP H. DICKINSON. M.D.
GEORGE J KEATING. M D
OBSTETRICS ft GYNECOLOGY
HERVEY K GRAHAM. M.D.
JOHN F. WANLESS. M.D.
PERRY O POWELL. JR.. M.D.
NEUROLOGY
r. O LINDEMULDER, M D
PEDIATRICS
O. BURCH MEHLIN. M.D.
HAROLD WEATHERMAN. M.D.
WILLIAM A. LEOVY. M.D.
OPHTHALMOLOGY
JOHN L. POWER. M.D.
OTOLARYNGOLOGY
CHARLES W REES. M.D
JOHN W. HENRICKSON. M.D.
RADIOLOGY
J. CURTIS ASHER. M.D.
PATHOLOGY
PHILLIPS L GAUSEWITZ. M D
ADMINISTRATION
JAMES H. BONE
November 1, 1956
Dear Friend:
At each session of the California Legislature many
issues are decided relating to Public Health. These
include: control of disease; sanitary regulations;
child welfare; food inspection, etc.
We believe that George G. Crawford, candidate for
the 79th District, is well qualified to represent
us in this important office. Mr. Crawford was born
and raised in San Diego, is a veteran of World
War II and a practicing attorney. He would be an
able representative of his district.
It is of utmost importance that. we all actively
participate in the selection of our public offi
cials. May we respectfully urge you to vote at the
election on November 6th.
Staff
Rees-Stealy Medical Clinic
59
Sankary: I think some of them had second thoughts and thought, well, we'll go
along with her. I'll never forget that man's face, the sneer on
his face, when he said, "I hope you can sleep tonight, Mrs. Sankary."
Then the second thing I wanted to say — they were sort of
spoiling me all during that legislative session. For example, on
the opening day the senate sends three people over to the assembly,
and the assembly sends three people over to the senate to say "hello"
and proffer some opening greetings. It's just a little ritual that
they have. They appointed me as one of the three, which was kind of
a pleasant surprise. I was to go up to the front of the senate and
get introduced to the whole senate the first day. So this is why
I say they were sort of doing little favors for me. I felt sort of
special that whole session. They were so nice to me in the legis
lature.
Chall: Were they treating you as a fellow legislator or pampering you as a
woman? Did you feel that they were downgrading you in any way?
Sankary: Not at all. I never felt that. I think perhaps because I was a
woman they gave me this special treatment, but I definitely felt I
was getting special treatment. Yet in all my career in the law and
in law school — when I was associating with so many men — I never used
feminine wiles. I never, never felt that because I'm a woman I
should have special treatment. So each time they'd do it, it came
as a surprise. It always does, even now — surprise me if someone
does something for me because I'm a woman.
But I want to give another example of that and I'll give you
the legislation. There was big talk about seawater conversion in
that year, a lot of pressure on the legislature from certain groups
and a lot of letters. So the assembly got into a big discussion
about it, thinking that we should try and get a seawater conversion
plant in California since the federal government had announced they
were going to put three, four, or five in the United States.
While this conversation was going on in the legislature — in the
assembly — I proposed that it come to the city of San Diego. I
know there were two or three others that requested it in their city —
in San Francisco, and L.A. , and I don't know where else — perhaps
where they really needed water. Yet the assembly sort of — I don't
know, they sort of got together and said, "Well, let's give it to
Wanda and put it in San Diego." We passed a resolution and sent it
to the federal government. It was again, doing it for me — not
because anyone else in San Diego requested it. Schrade, Hegland,
and Luckel didn't request it. And Kraft didn't request it to my
knowledge. Again, I felt this was just a little favor they were
doing for me. Since everyone in the California legislature wanted
it built in San Diego there was a conversion plant built in San Diego.
60
Sankary: So I always felt that I had produced that just in my entreating
[chuckles] but not as a woman again. Perhaps it had an effect,
because as you know there were so many new assemblymen that year,
and yet I felt I was getting all kinds of little favors.
Chall: When they gave favors like this to you, did they ask anything in
return ultimately?
Sankary: Never. Nobody —
Chall: Did they say, "Look, I helped you out on this — "
Sankary: No, nobody did that that I recall at all.
Chall: So you didn't feel any pressure from the legislators. The pressures
then came from lobbyists outside?
Sankary: Right.
Chall: The medical profession, of course, was one.
Sankary: When any legislator asked me for his vote and knowing — I mean, I
soon established what I would vote for — social welfare and individual
rights, knowing what my position was, he didn't press it. Contrary
to Schrade and Hegland who were quite vocal about theirs — I was very
quiet. I never said anything in that assembly. I was really intimi
dated about talking. In fact, I recall sitting there that first day
and saying, "How did I get here?" I was so overwhelmed. I looked
around and the governor was up at the rostrum speaking — I just
couldn't believe it had happened to me. What was I, little me,
doing here? I never overcame that feeling and yet when something
came up against my convictions I was very firm. The aggression
came out — "Oh, absolutely not." I'd take a stand very positively.
I never was wishy-washy.
Chall: You took a stand and then you worked through the committees, is that
it?
Sankary: Yes. But even in committees when legislators would approach me for
a vote that I couldn't give — and I'd have to vote my conscience — I
never felt their animosity, even the very, very conservative ones
like Mr. [Frank] Lanterman. He and I never voted the same and yet
I never felt his animosity. He would ridicule everybody and he may
have done that to me behind my back. He would go like this [ges
tures] when he'd say "Pauline Davis" because she had a high pompadour.
If it was anyone that he opposed politically he was just cruel —
cutting — and he may have done that to me but only behind my back.
Yet we'd have a drink together after a session or have lunch together
and we got along just fine — he, even the most conservative!
61
Sankary: The one that wouldn't bend at all was [Harold K.] Levering. He was
a nasty s.o.b. — oh, he was nasty. He never showed an ounce of
friendship and that was conspicuous. The others all did. As for
Mr. [Charles E.] Chapel — is that how it's pronounced?
Chall: Some people say Chapel. I've heard it both ways. I don't know.
Sankary: I can't remember how he said it anymore. But he was a maverick.
He went out for — it seemed to me he wanted to gain attention. He'd
get up and say funny, ridiculous things just to get attention to
himself. And he was that way about bills. He would contradict
himself going one way or another on bills.
Chall: That was it?
Sankary: I thought so.
Chall: I couldn't understand some of the bills.
Sankary: Yes, he went out for shock treatment and I think — I don't know if
that was his purpose in women's bills or not.
Chall: Yes, that was —
Sankary: Shock treatment.
Chall: He was behind almost all of those women's bills that were put out
in 1955.
Sankary: He was a peculiar, funny man and they tolerated him. They laughed
at him and laughed with him. He was trying to be a comic all the
time. He was just a kind of a joker in the assembly. One time at
the end of the session my mother, husband and baby Tim visited the
assembly. Chapel grabbed Timmy and threw him up in the air in the
middle of the assembly room disrupting the proceedings.
Chall: Were his bills generally good bills that could be supported? This
woman's bill — this was long before women would be given any of the
treatment that he asked for.
Sankary: Yes, but they were a surprise from him.
Chall: I wondered how they came about.
Sankary: I wonder too, how he —
Chall: Whether the Business or Professional women would have been behind
these bills?
62
Sankary: No, he would have been the last person I think that the women's
groups would go to because he was unpredictable. He was just not
a serious legislator. As a matter of fact, way back then, he was
arrested I think, or he got into some kind of trouble on the airlines.
He got on an airplane once as we traveled back and forth and he said,
"Well, I've got a few guns and a bomb" — you know, he'd make remarks
like that and get himself into such stupid trouble. I don't under
stand the man. I never did. Yet I liked him.
So I don't think the women's group would have gone to him. I
think he did it just to be facetious or chivalrous.
Chall: Did he work hard for the bills that he put into the house?
Sankary: I don't think he worked hard on those bills that I recall and I
don't remember any of his other bills. He was likable in a way
because he was light. He took nothing seriously; nothing.
Socializing
Chall: You mentioned socializing with the other legislators, men legisla
tors, after a session for a drink or for lunch. That would indicate
that you were treated as one of the boys?
Sankary: Yes, I was. I just had a wonderful time. If I had had more time
I could have had a really good time!
Chall: Did they discuss legislation with you?
Sankary: Not after hours.
Chall: They would just unbend?
Sankary: They just liked to unbend. I always had a lot of invitations.
Chall: They weren't after you in any kind of sexual way?
Sankary: No.
Chall: Would they clean up their stories?
Sankary: If they did I wasn't aware of it. I don't recall anything very
ribald or any dirty stories being told. I made two very good
friends — well, one specifically. His name was Miller — was his
name Allen Miller? Miller and William Munnell were always together
and they were kind of a behind-the-scenes power all the time in
Democratic circles. Mr. Miller was especially nice — and John McFall.
I felt I had two very good friends.
Chall: There was an Allen Miller from San Fernando.
Sankary: He was especially nice, and John McFall was very nice. He is now
in Congress.
63
Chall:
Sankary :
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
Did you ever know Munnell at USC? He was a graduate I think of
USC and I wondered if you'd known him.
No, I didn't know him there.
So they were nice in what way?
Well, what I mean is, like I would go to dinner with them privately
or somewhere. Munnell never did. I think his wife was living in
Sacramento but the others had more time. Let me see, who else in
Democratic circles? Mr. [L.M.] Backstrand was a Republican but he
was very nice. As far as socializing, I can't think of anyone
specifically. There was John O'Connell, an attorney from San
Francisco whom I felt close to. Allan Pattee and I became close
friends. [Jesse] Unruh was around but Unruh was... a planner. He
took me out one time and tried to educate me. He was so — what
should I say? — serious. He was a driver, thinker, and serious,
ambitious, and he knew what he wanted to do.
Now, Lanterman was always picking on him. I guess Lanterman
didn't realize that Unruh would later become a power because
Lanterman was vicious toward Unruh. There seemed to be a lot of
ridiculing of Unruh. So when Unruh tried to persuade me to think
along his lines, I think that's what dissuaded me— the fact that
other people were ridiculing him that first year. He was kind of
a — he seemed like an extremist.
Then there was Charlie Wilson who is in Congress. He impressed
me very badly. I saw a lot of him, but down deep inside I didn't
approve of his deviousness.
Wilson would have been in — did you say Congress?
He is in Congress now. I saw a lot of him.
He was a freshman that year too.
There was [Patrick] McGee and Pattee and wasn't there a Smith?
Yes, I guess it was H. Allen Smith. Wasn't he the one running
against —
Oh, you're thinking of the one who ran against Luther Lincoln?
That's the same Smith.
Well, we became pretty good friends even though he was a Republican.
I never felt he was a sincere person. Should I say all of these
things?
Chall:
Yes.
63a
Telephone Cypress 2-4767
California Drycleaners Association
NORTH FIRST STREET
*
SFFICERS
PRESIDENT
ot H. LOBDCLL
ID MAIN STREET
CHICO
KSIDENT ELECT
VE D. CARROLL
•6 C. BROADWAY
LONG BEACH
CE PRESIDENT
NIL M. LEVEY
•MILLER AVENUE
HILL VALLEY
;.TE PAST PRESIDENT
(NET C. BRYAN
ARRDYD PARKWAY
PAEADENA
TREASURER
iEORGE RUIZ
266 FRANKLIN
SANTA CLARA
ROE ANT- AT- ARMS
INK. G. HOOVER
X. GRAND AVENUE
ESCDNDIDD
iUTIVE SECRETARY
BE M. SHEPHERD
h«TH FIRST STREET
CAN JOSE
:t CYPRESS a-«767
>IRECTORS
IN A. ABLITT
VEY ALLARD
ILLES
VNDERSON
AVERY
iL F. BAKER
L J. BENSON
. BOWMAN '
:. BRITTAIN. JR.
iR P. CALQU
N S. COCHRAN
:HRISTENSEN
•8. COSTA
C. COWLING
T A. ERMISCH
rEATHERMAN
RANZETTI
GALLAGHER
D W. HIGGINS
RD 5. JENSEN
RD KOREN
. KRAMMES
E KRATLIAN
LOWER
McCOLAUGH
MORRIS
RD K. NEWMAN
RAUCH
3. ROBERTS
V. ROSE
RUSSELL
SATCHELL
C. SEEM
SHOEMAKER
.L W. SMITH
S. STEWARD
N SWANSON
RD TAYLOR
1ES WATTERS
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
March 4, 1955
Mrs. Wanda Sankary
StRte Capitol
Sacramento
California
Desr Mrs. Sankary:
You are cordially invited to attend a dinner
to be given in the Empire Room of the Senator
Hotel in Sacramento ont Sunday, March the 15th—
at 6:00 P.M., as the guest oi1 Mr. and Mrs. George
w awl: ins oJT~5"an Diego.
The dinner is given by the California Drycleaners
Association and will afford you an opportunity to
become better acquainted with the leaders in the
drycleaning industry in your district and the entire
o w 3, o € •
V/e hor;e that you will be sble to attend this dinner
as v/e feel sure that you will enjoy the entertain
ment which has been provided. Bece.use of the rush
of legislative
about 9:00 P.M.
we plan to wind up our meeting
Sincerely youcs ,
GEORGE K. LOBDELL,
President
cc: George Hawkins
V V
OCIATION
64
Sankary: I intuitively feel things about people all my life and I didn't
feel he was sincere and Charlie Wilson was not a sincere person.
But McGee and Pattee, we just had fun together and I think they
were both Republicans. And Joe Shell flew me to San Diego in his
private plane.
Chall: Yes, Pattee was a Republican.
[end tape 3, siue A; begin tape 3, side B]
Lobbying and Lobbyists
Sankary: Regarding dinner with lobbyists — some were very, very elaborate
dinners — very. Oh, there were some to attend every night and every
meal. There were more invitations than we could or cared to accept,
a lot of money being spent on lunches and dinners. Not gifts. I
don't recall any gifts at all. Perhaps at Christmas I got a box of
oranges, something like that. I don't recall through the legislative
sessions anything by way of gifts other than breakfast, luncheons,
and dinner invitations.
Chall: I suppose you legislators weren't getting very much money so it
probably helped to have a little coming in — even by way of meals.
Sankary: Yes, only $500 a month (no cars, etc., as now) and there is where
you made your friends, and enjoyed the camaraderie.
Chall: How was it?
Sankary: I enjoyed them tremendously.
Chall: At one point after one of your speeches, in answer to a question,
you said something about lobbyists indicating that there could be
hundreds. You said, "'Among the hundreds there are crooks and corrupt
ones. Legislators who feel the financial strain perhaps will take
money for their votes. To know this is going on is depressing. I
am aware of it!' She said when she discussed the matter with others
they told her she is not a policeman."* Of course, that brought out
a tremendous press coverage and criticism. There are three articles
I copied for you. [tape interruption to examine papers]
*San Diego Union. November 18, 1955.
r*. • ... . : -', • 5il ""•?;•-•
-•.-,•'-.. .
I . • - . ' • V .-,- 0$ ''••'•
64a
••'..• '-'..'''-' • *• •
2 CITIZEN-NEWS * Wednesday. November 23, 1955
Row Flares^ Over Bribe
Talk by Woman Solon
SACRAMENTO W>— The dis
trict attorney's office said today
it -will probe "as far as we can"
any leads alleginf that state leg
islators took bribes from lobby-'
ists.
Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Ed-i
ward I. McCarthy said the inves-'
tigation will go ahead despite the
statement of Assemblywoman
Wanda Sankary (San Diego)
that she was misquoted when a
Los Angeles newspaper reported
her as saying she had "seen leg
islators in Sacramento take mon
ey for their votes.".
"If anything turns up to show
the statements attributed to her
are true, we will investigate even1
if she denies the remarks," Mc
Carthy said.
He said iiowever, there were,
no plans t» summon her before
the district attorney or grand
Jury. -
McCarthy said, "Unless Mrs,
Sankary can give us some leads,
it would be practically impossi
ble to conduct any investigation
at this late date, with th? Legis
lature already over."
In San Diego last night, Mrs.
Sankary issued a disclaimer of
the remarks attributed to her
CLAIMS APOLOGY
She said that the reporter who
was responsible has apologized.
Her statement cam'e after J.
Francis O'Shea, district attorney
of Sacramento County, had ask
ed her to give him "the names of
the legislators and the names of
lobbyists which you allege en
gaged in this operation."
O'Shea said he learned of the
remark attributed to Mrs. San
kary from a letter AssembljTnan
Harold K. Levering (R-Los An
geles) wrote to her. Levering,
one-time majority floor leader in
the Assembly, sent copies of the
letter to O'Shea and to J. D. Kel
ler, San Diego County district
attorney.
Levering said he read in a Los
Angeles newspaper that Mrs.
Sankary had said last week in a
speech before the San Diego
League of Democratic Women
that she had seen money change
hands. "]
"When I tried to do something,
about "It and talked to other leg
islators," she was quoted, "they1
told me I wasn't a policeman."
Mrs^Sankary said, "It's unfor-;
tunate that people go off half-
cocked" and that O'Shea should
have given her the courtesy of
•fcllowing her to receive his letter t
^before making it 'public. .
\ She said that in her speech "I
had mentioned that the great
majority of lobbyists and legis'
iUtors are people of integrity, in-
*. telligence and honesty."
CASES CITED
She said she added, "Wherever
: there are human beings you will
find human frailties and in
'groups there are bound to be
r som* p^opJe*"who.aTe corrupt. '
• To substantiate her statement
Vshe mentioned the conviction of
t Assemblymen Charles Lyon (R-
- Beverly Hills) - and G. Delbert
: Morris <R-LOs Angeles) In con
nection with liquor licenses. Lyon
is in prison for bribery and Mor-
ri$ for perjury before a San Die-
to grand jury. She also men-
•ioned the . conviction of liquor
Mjbyist Arthur Samish for fed-
\J income tax evasion. ....
iQj
targes
Wanda Sankary has
.done great disservice to government in
California and to her fellow legislators
with her loobc charges concerning brib
ery in the Legislature. \fl' ")•
. By making general accusations, ap- .
parontly without facts to support them,
*Mrs. Sankary places all legislators in a,
bad light, throwing suspicion where none
is merited. •
IVtrs. Sankary, a young mother herself,
placed especial shadow on young male
legislators with children, implying that
they are most easily bribed.
If Mrs. Sankary has actual evidence of
bribery she should plactok-JseftKHSvl^pCr
authorities. . If she docs not have,
would do well to talk
HOME ADDRtS*
1036 SAVOY CTKKET
CAN DIEGO 7
STATE CAPITOU
ZONK 14
COMMITTEES
CONSERVATION, PLANNING. ,
PUBLIC WORKS
MANUFACTURING, OIL, AND
MINING INDUSTRY
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND
CORPORATIONS
RULES
FRANK LUCKEL
MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY. SEVENTY-EIGHTH DISTRICT
RULES COMMITTEE
November 23, 1955
The Honorable Thomas M. Ervdn
Assemblyman, the 50th District
1016 North V7iUow Avenue
Puente, California
Dear Tom:
Re yours of November 21st.
I will outline the facts as I know
them, without any expression of opinion.
Shortly after the Saakary speecL
a friend of mine told me about same. This Party stressed the construct
ive nature of Mrs. Sankary's remarks^ and outlined how aha had given
credit to myself and Speaker Lincoln for the fine Committee assignments
of £an Diego County Legislators. Furthermore, sho was reported to have
outlined the importance of my position on the Rules Committee insofar as
San Die^o was concerned. These constructive remarks were stressed
rather than the criticism of Lobbyists, etc. , etc. , which took place during
the question and answer period.
•
However, the newspaper writeup
which appeared after the above report, merely outlined the certain criticism
of Lobbyists and Legislators without the slightest refsrence to the other
broad discussions.
\Yhezi I attended a meeting of some
seven Republican AVomens1 groups on November 22, to introduce Senator
Kuchel, the Reporter who had reported the Sankary speech accosted me. He
volunteered the information that the article in the Los Angeles Times had
misquoted Mrs. Sankary in uome important manner.
SAN DIEGO 7
STATE CAPITOL
ZONE 14
FRANK LUCKEL
MtMBFR Or ASSEMBLY. SEVENTY. CIGHTII DISTRICT
RULES COMMITTEE
COMMITTEES
PUBLIC WORKS
MINING IMOUlTfir
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND
CORPORATIONS
RULES
The Honorable Thomas M. Erwin
November 23, 1955
Pa<re
Thereafter, the San Diego
Union carried an article giving Mrs. Saakary'i viewpoints and con-
firuiiuj the expressed opinion of this Rsportc^r. This article was
dated this morning. NovemLc-r 23., a:id is enclosed ho
I tiii.ak it is q-.iiie definitely
known hereabouts that both San Diego daily newspapers have not been
favorable to either Mrs. Saukary or rna jj^ic.3 \vc s^vorUd Ldncola
for tlie Speak^rship.
Respectfully yours,
Copies To:
Assemblyman Wanda Sankary
Aa o embly man. 11. L. Lincoln
FRANK XKEL
/v,/,-A '3 MAN
STATE LEGISLATURE
1036 Sfi*-oY Street
Sao Di^qo 7
65
Sankary: I think this article comes close to what I said. I also have a
tape recording of an interview I subsequently made with the
reporter who put some of these articles in the paper in which he
admits that he changed my words. I have a piece of tape that I
saved because I sued some people for this. If I can find that
tape — I've got a bunch of tapes in here that we might look into.
Let me see, in this article [Union, November 18, 1955] they pick
that one thing up and blow it up. It even went into the L.A. Times
and the L.A. Times retracted it. The San Diego Union-Tribune,
powerful as it was, refused to retract, and it was their reporter
whom I have on tape. But we didn't have the time nor enough
assurance of winning, to sue. San Diego was controlled then by
Copely and the Republican party. It was Nixon's "favorite city"
even recently.
Chall: You said you enjoyed your lunches and dinners with the lobbyists
and your fellow legislators. Did you feel you were being —
Sankary: Bribed? No.
Chall: Pressured?
Sankary: Well, there was a vague feeling that these people must want something
for this entertainment. Yet I recall specific ones that came to
me afterwards and even though it hurt, I would turn down — even
though I'd had a nice big dinner with them. I would really weigh
it to see if I was for the legislation or not.
Prior to my experience with the county medical association
Mr. Nute — I think, he represented the San Diego Medical Society —
took me out to dinner. I recall now that he was extremely handsome.
All the lobbyists were chosen for being good looking and
personable — and, ooh, they made so much money. I remember their
saying that their salaries were like seventy thousand a year, plus
a hundred thousand for expenses. We were so jealous because our
salary was only six thousand I think at that time — five or six
thousand. I could see that the people in the legislature were not
as exciting and interesting and educated as the group that was
outside the legislature. Because for that kind of money they could
pick the finest people in the world, I guess. So these were a very
attractive bunch.
Usually everybody's invited and you feel if they go, why
shouldn't I. I mean, they're going to spend this money anyway.
I don't owe them anything just because they put on a dinner. I'm
just another legislator and there are about eighty of them there
each time. So my conscience really didn't hurt that much, going
and accepting that gift.
66
Sankary: But Mr. Nute took me out personally alone for dinner, which was
unusual. I paid no attention to the fact that he was so gorgeous —
attractive and young. The next morning somebody said, "Good morning,
Mrs. Sankary" and I didn't recognize him. I said, "Now, tell me
what your name is" and he said, "Why, I Just had dinner with you
last night." So that's how poor a politician I was. He never
impressed me. I've thought about that for years; why I don't
remember people's faces — even when they're gorgeous [laughter] and
personable! And then I'd go to bat against them yet! Anyway, where
was I?
Chall: You didn't feel then—
Sankary: They didn't approach me but as I was there I gathered — here and
there — that people were being paid for votes — I mean paid in one
way or another with campaign contributions, promises, or something.
You just sort of felt or absorbed this existence of fact.
Chall: None of your fellow freshmen would mention it to you?
Sankary: I think there was actual mentioning that so-and-so will give you a
big campaign contribution if you do this — but I can't recall anything
specifically.
Chall: Because it's something you'd certainly be learning as rapidly as
possible I would think.
Sankary: If you were ambitious. But I was just too unconcerned to plan to
get reelected. I never thought of that. I never thought of what
was expedient for me, never thought of a future in politics. And
I recall later — the last day of the session I had dinner alone with
John McFall before we all spread out, and he said he was going to
run for Congress. I remember him bawling me out at that dinner;
just the two of us. He said, "For heaven sakes, you had such a
tremendous future and you're blowing it. You're not doing anything.
You should be leading the San Diego delegation. You should be the
big voice here in the assembly. Do something with it. You can go
a long way in politics."
I said, "Gee, you mean I wasted opportunities?" That would
have come as a surprise to me, but I should have been thinking
about ambition, about what's good for Wanda Sankary.
Chall: But basically you were torn between your job and the babies so that
you didn't think ahead.
Sankary: I didn't want to go back to Sacramento and Congress —
Chall: Congress would have been much more difficult.
67
Sankary: So there was this torn feeling of which way should I go. I had
once before met a crossroads like that. I don't know if I men
tioned it or not on the earlier tapes, but when I got out of law
school and I had fallen in love with Morris Sankary, Justice
Douglas had requested I apply to be his clerk. Here again I was
torn. Had I gone that route, no one knows where I would have been
today. I would have gotten involved first in California then in
Washington politics and if I had made my career important it would
have been a tremendous stepping stone. Who knows where I would
have been today at fifty-seven. Again, I didn't grasp my oppor
tunities in my legal profession either. I really sacrificed it for
the children.
Chall: But this was the early 1950s, the years that are referred to in
The Feminine Mystique. Women were expected not to be ambitious in
their careers. They were expected to have a home and a family and
you were really coming up in that time.
Sankary: Well, I think I'm that kind of a woman. I am a clinging-vine type.
I need to love and to be loved and cared for. I'm very sentimental
and I need my family around me. I'm very sensitive and I wasn't
ready for the rough and tumble of politics, at the time I went into
it.
Chall: Was it rough and tumble? To stay in might have been rough and
tumble, but was it rough and tumble while you were up there?
Sankary: Yes, it was. It was hard because you did get pressures and you
had to say no. The hours were long and you were getting worn out
and tired. I have written someplace in my notes, that several
people got sick and several people died in that session, they were
so overworked. It was an unusually hard session.
Chall: The men were working — except for the fact that you were on more
committees — but you felt that they were all putting in the same
kind of time — those who were serious?
Sankary: Yes, and I recall everyone saying that this was the hardest session
they had had, even some who had been there twenty years.
Apropos of the women, they were always very nice and I'm sure
that they said that if you need any help, I will help you. They
were just lovely, really both of them were just great. I had never
belonged to any women's clubs and coming from a conservative town —
all of the women in San Diego then and mostly now are Republican.
I was invited once to the President's Club which was a group of
women, ex-presidents of various associations. When I ran for
reelection, although I had espoused the women's causes, and I
always listened, and had given a lot of time to the lobbyists that
68
Sankary: came up, when it came time to run for election, they worked against
me and would not endorse me. Mr. Crawford made a big issue of the
fact that the women's groups were against Mrs. Sankary and this was
one of the most painful experiences to me. I couldn't understand
that. When Mrs. Gupta [Ruth Church] one of the two women's lobby
ists contacted me for legislation, I always complied. This was a
very bitter experience to feel that it was just because I was a
Democrat — I felt that that was the only reason.
Chall: The League of Women Voters would be lobbying for and against bills
but they don't support candidates. But the Business and Professional
Women have always supported women, particularly if they wanted them
to get ahead.
Sankary: Not me. And yet the other two women were Democrats and they did
support them in their towns. I don't know how Mr. Crawford managed
to pull this off, but he got them against me, in mine.
Chall: They actually wouldn't give you any support? They did endorse him?
Sankary: They did; at least he made a big news story of it.
Chall: I see; that's curious.
Sankary: Yes, it was a very painful experience. Let me see, I just ran
across a letter I wrote to somebody about that. [Pause to search
for letter]
I think I'm wandering all over the place.
Chall: No, that's all right. You may think you're wandering but you're
not.
The major thing that we're talking about, has been lobbying —
good lobbying and lobbying that you found oppressive. The people
who lobby for and against legislation like the Quakers did on bills
for civil rights and FEPC and things of this kind — they are really
quite concerned about issues. So, of course, is the American
Medical Society. They're concerned.
I guess the Friends Committee on Legislation can't give you any
money, but a powerful lobbying group like the liquor lobby or the
lobbyists having to do with the American Medical Association can.
I suppose you can look at them in different ways, but they're still
trying to educate you for and against legislation.
You felt, you told me that even if you accepted their favors,
you were strong enough to stand where you wanted to. If you didn't
really understand you would give them the benefit of the doubt and
you'd go back and look at the bill. Was it McFall who told you
you were not helping your career in any way —
California
STATE OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Miss EVELYN E.
1(01 Wilihin Boulevard
Los Anxeles 57. Cilifomii
FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT
Mis. LADOCIA ELLIS
1550 Bidwell Avenue
Chico. Cikiorau
SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT
MlS. DOIOTHY M. fOtD
J006 Odnsa
68a
Federation ol Business and Professional
Women** Clubs
MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S CLUBS. INC.
Dear Friend:
THIRD VICE-PRESIDENT
Matt. ELILABFTH EVANS CHAPMAN
12)1 V. Magnolia Street
Stockton, California
tECORDLNG SECRETARY
Mis. HELEN G. CHAPMAN
J60 Eut Holt Avenue
POOOOA, CaliJonna
TREASURER
Mu. MAIJOUE S. HITCH
2160 Leavenworth St.
Cu Frtacuco 11. Ctkioniia
JUNIOR PAST PRESIDENT
Mu. GLADYS ANNE SHEIUN
J2.0. W. Willow Street
i, C*J-iiomL»
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
Miss JEANNETTE CALKINS
681 Marker Street. Room 22)
FlUKUCO 5.
Inclosed it m copy of our Magazine which goes
to each of the members of the California Federation of
Business and Professional Women's Clubs. We are sending
you a copy of this issue because on page 9 it contains
an "Open Letter" to the members of the California
Legislature.
Our legislative aims are few, but we are deeply
interested in the matters discussed in the "open letter",
and we look forward to the opportunity to discuss them
with you in further detail. We are sincerely grateful
for the reception we have always received in Sacramento.
The members of the Business and Professional
Women's Club in your community are interested in your
program, and we hope that you have the opportunity to
meet with them and learn more about our program.
At any tine I shall be most happy to discuss
with you any questions you may have concerning the
platform and objectives of the California Federation of
Business and Professional Women's Clubs.
Sincerely yours,
RUTH CHURCH GUPTA
Legislative Advocate
2237 Chestnut Street
San Francisco 23
Enclosure
* tetter . 7 .
To the Members of the California Legislature
Dear friends:
ALTHOUGH PERSONAL THANKS have
been expressed to many of our good
friends in the California Legislature for
their assistance and cooperation in con
nection with the aims and objectives of
the legislative program of our Federation,
this seems to be an appropriate time to
direct an open letter to you so that all
may know of our appreciation for your
efforts.
At the risk of omitting the names of
many of those who aided and encouraged
us in the furtherance of our legislative
plans during these past two years, we
should like to make special mention of
the kindness of some of the legislators at
Sacramento. A list such as this should, of
course, start with the names of two As
semblywomen, Dorothy Donahoe from
Bakersfield and Pauline Davis from Por-
tola. These very able women received our
endorsement because they have demon
strated that they are qualified women who
are in accord with the principles, practices
and legislative platform of the California
Federation of BPWC Their counsel dur
ing these past two years has been greatly
appreciated.
There were a number of authors of bills
introduced in the 1955 Session which
were the result of our recommendations.
Assemblyman Charles Chapel of Ingle-
wood authored several measures for us,
including AB 498, the Equal Pay measure.
Assemblyman Chapel was particularly
helpful in arranging conferences for us
with the office of the Legislative Counsel
and with other interested groups and was
very helpful in making constructive sug
gestions. Senator Arthur W. Way of Eu
reka introduced a similar Equal Pay bill
in the Senate. Senator Donald L. Grunsky
of Watsonville introduced the resolution
requesting a review of Part IV of the
Labor Code, which resolution resulted in
the Senate Labor Committee hearings held
in June, 1956. Co-authors of a similar
resolution in the Assembly were: Assem
blyman Chapel of Inglewood; William
Munnell of Montebello; Allen Miller of
San Fernando; Charles Conrad of Sherman
Oaks; Bruce F. Allen of San Jose; Carlos
Bee of Hayward; Frank G. Bonelli of
Huntington Park; Ralph M. Brown of
Modesto; Rex M. Cunningham of Ven
tura; Walter 1. Dahl of Oakland; Pauline
Davis of Portola; Dorothy Donahoe, Bak-
ersfield; Donald D. Doyle, Lafayette;
Thomas J. Doyle, Los Angeles; Gordon
Fleury, Sacramento; Samuel R. Geddes,
Napa; W. S. Grant, Long Beach; Wallace
D. Henderson, Fresno; Vernon Kilpatrick,
Lynwood; Francis C, Lindsay, Loomis; S. C.
Masterson, Richmond; John ]. McFall,
Manteca; Thomas M. Rees, Los Angeles;
Byron Rumford, Berkeley; and Wanda
Sankary, San Diego.
AB 498, the provision for amendment
and strengthening of the Equal Pay Law,
was heard before the Assembly Industrial
Relations Committee and favorably acted
upon by that committee. We most cer
tainly appreciate the manner in which that
committee considered the bill, and the co
operation in particular of the Committee
Chairman, Wallace D. Henderson of Fres
no, and of James L. Holmes of Santa Bar
bara, Walter I. Dahl of Oakland, S. C.
Masterson of Richmond and Wanda San
kary of San Diego for the active part they
took in the committee's deliberations. Ed
ward M. Gaffney and John A. O'Connell
of San Francisco likewise voted favorably
on the passage of the bill by the com
mittee.
After the favorable action in the Indus
trial Relations Committee on the Equal
Pay bill, it was referred to the Ways and
Means Committee of the Assembly with
28 members. It was heard late one after
noon at a meeting chaired by Assembly
man Caspar Weinberger. Assemblyman
Dorothy Donahoe moved for the approval
of the bill by the committee, but it failed
to receive sufficient votes because so many
members of the committee had left the
hearing and it was impossible to obtain
the necessary majority vote.
A special word of appreciation is due
the Senate Labor Committee which has
devoted considerable time since the ad
journment of the 1956 Budget Session in
hearing testimony in Los Angeles, San
Francisco and Sacramento relative to our
proposal for amendment to Section 1350
of the Labor Code, the Eight Hour Law.
The members of that committee are F.
Presley Ahshire of Santa Rosa, who is the
chairman of the committee but because of
a serious automobile accident was unable
to attend the hearings in person, but who
has followed the proceedings from his
home by means of the transcripts; Don
ald L. Grunsky of Watsonville, the author
of the resolution; Harold T. Johnson of
Roseville; Robert I. Montgomery of Han-
ford (acting chairman of the committee
and a skillful moderator) ; John A. Murdy,
Jr. of Huntington Beach; Louis G. Sutton
of Maxwell; and /. Howard Williams of
Porterville. Each member of the commit
tee listened attentively and thoughtfully to
all witnesses. The effective questioning of
the witnesses by the committee, and par
ticularly by Senator Grunsky and the com
mittee counsel, Louis Bolt, HI, resulted in
a wealth of material now before the com
mittee for study. We have every confi
dence that their action will be in the best
interests of all of the people of our great
state.
To all of the members of the Legislature
who listened to and approved of the cause
of the Business and Professional Women's
Clubs, whether or not our bills had an
opportunity to get before them in com
mittee or on the floor, we express our
thanks. We believe the members of the
Legislature realize that we are an organi
zation of approximately 17,000 women in
311 clubs throughout the state of Califor
nia, dedicated to a program of seeking
equality and justice for the employed
women of our state, through the appro
priate legislative channels.
When we return in 1957 asking the
Legislature to pass on our proposals, we
are confident we will continue to receive
the most courteous and helpful assistance
of our elected officials.
With every good wish on behalf of all
of our members,
Sincerely yours,
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF BUSINESS
AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S CLUBS
EVELYN E. WHITLOW, President
RUTH CHURCH GUPTA,
Legislative Advocate
Western Region Meeting
Scheduled for Hawaii
"BPW Heaven— Hawaii in '57"
This is the slogan adopted by the Ha
waii Federation of Business and Profes
sional Women's Clubs, and is most heart
ily endorsed by the officers and members
of the Western Regional Council.
Your Regional Chairman, Lela E. Swa-
sey, is anxious to meet and greet every
member of the Western Region — in par
ticular, and any Federation member —
their relatives and friends. Your Vice-
Chairman, Frances Alexander, is eager to
extend the famous and traditional "Aloha"
on your arrival.
WHERE? Honolylu, Hawaii
WHEN? July 25. 26, 27. 1957
69
Sankary: And Unruh.
Chall: Was Unruh really trying to give you that kind of advice too?
Sankary: That was at the beginning of the session where he sought me out
and said, "Now, let's get our heads together and see where we're
going and what we want to accomplish." I sort of brushed him off
because at that time — he was not really accepted as a voice. He
was a freshman too and I didn't realize that he may have had a lot
more savvy and background than I had. So I didn't take him seriously.
But apropos of the lobbyists the thought comes to me that I was
concerned about it because I ran across something where I had pro
posed that the candidates for the legislature — the California
legislature — be given public funds so that they could have a campaign
fund free of lobbyist influence. Now, that was way back there
twenty-two years ago and yet now in 1977 Common Cause has that very
same proposal before the federal Congress. I had forgotten doing
that and yet this was something I_ had proposed at that early date.
In this bill the state would pay to party county central
committees fifty cents for each registered voter of any political
party. These funds would be spent for campaign expenses of nominees.
Now, this was a revolutionary idea and the Republicans screamed
bloody murder and the newspapers called it "Democratic boondoggling."
A simple law has now been enacted as far as presidential campaigns
in the United States, and it is the same kind of view that is held
by Common Cause for congressional campaigns. Its time will come.
The Committees and the Committee Process
Chall: Could you tell me about your committees? We won't go into legisla
tion on the committees but the committees themselves. The Judiciary
Committee?
Sankary: I was the first woman in California's history on that.
Chall: There were some very important bills that went through there having
to do with civil rights and other matters that we'll talk about next
time we get together. I'll let you look at the other members of
the committee and maybe you can give me some idea of which ones of
them impressed you the most. This is the list of Judiciary Committee
members.
Sankary: All right, I'm listening.
70
Chall: All right, do' you want me to give you the names? There were
Mr. Fleury, Mr. Smith, Allen. Allen would have been Bruce Allen.
Sankary: Oh, yes, I can vaguely remember him.
Chall: Bradley [Clark].
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: Brady, Brown, Caldecott, Dickey, Dolwig, Ernest Geddes, Lyon, McFall,
McGee, Masterson, McMillan, Miller— is that George Miller?
Sankary: No > that's Allen Miller.
Chall: That's right, George is the senator. O'Connell and Weinberger.
Sankary: Yes, that's Caspar Weinberger.
Chall: Now, some of these men you've mentioned as being those whom you
went out with to dinner afterwards so that some of these people
became your friends. What about Mr. Weinberger who was certainly
an important person in those days?
Sankary: He was a loner. He didn't socialize at all. I never saw him any
place, never, and he wasn't a really friendly, outgoing person. I
didn't get to know him at all.
Chall: How about some of the other members? Were there any that impressed
you? Look at the list.
Sankary: Fleury [Gordon] was a very friendly little guy from Sacramento. He
was nice. Didn't appear serious about our work but possibly was.
I think he left soon; was appointed judge. Smith was very nice.
I liked him. He was not a heavyweight professionally. The politi
cian type, I thought. Allen I barely remember. Bradley was a
conservative Republican, extremely serious and political animal.
Brady [Bernard] had about ten children and was a nice family man
and a friendly outgoing fellow; always laughing and joking. Brown
was my roommate. He was from central California some place. He
was a very serious man, respected and admirable. Caldecott [Thomas
W. ] was a studious, erudite man. I respected him. Dickey [Randal]
I didn't get to know very well and he's considerably older but
very respected also. Dolwig [Richard] was a friendly man, a mixer
type. He seemed rather devious to me. Ernest Geddes was a nice,
older man.
McFall, [John] was serious, quiet, thoughtful. McGee, a
lightweight, self-serving, political type but the handsomest man in
the assembly and knew it. Masterson [S.C.] was a good friend of
71
Sankary: mine — a former judge I think he was. He fought for social justice.
MacMillan [Lester] was a good friend of mine, a very, very, nice
guy. We were good friends. He was very upstanding and a fighter
for justice also. Miller [Allen], O'Connell [John] — we were all
pals I felt and agreed on most issues, these last four.
Chall: Later when we take up the legislation that your committee was
concerned with — I would imagine that there must have been rather
heated discussions over some civil rights matters.
Sankary: I think it kind of split on party lines —
Chall: I guess what I'd like to know, even without discussing bills, is
how the committee worked among themselves. Did most committee
members attend committee meetings and did they rely upon their own
homework, to understand the bills?
Sankary: As I recall, we were given a set of the bills that would appear
before us to consider — about a day in advance. We were supposedly
reading them and people would come to our office, to lobby, and
try and talk to us about them. They'd catch you in the hall to
discuss a bill. So by the time you got to the committee hearing,
a lot of members may have heard these bills over and over and over —
even in previous years. They were familiar with them — may have had
their mind already made up. But to me it was just an avalanche of
reading bills and trying to understand them. Every day new material.
So I listened quite seriously to the witnesses who usually
were representatives of one side or another and tried to make up my
mind that way. Sometimes someone would come by whose opinion I
valued, and would advise me on a bill that wasn't their bill but
who would say, "Oh, this is good and this is bad and this is why."
They helped me that way. I'd ask other legislators that were of
my views — Mr. Miller [chuckles] — not Mr. Hegland. Although we
were very good friends, I never had any arguments that I recall —
any unpleasantness with any legislator throughout the whole time,
which is surprising because I'm a very aggressive woman — always
fighting somebody in the law. And I don't recall having any fights
in the legislature. Maybe I was intimidated.
But I know the one thing that does remain in my memory is when
the first time — or every time — I went to a committee hearing, they
had put the members of the committee up on a dias so high — like
judges — to make everybody look small and feel small below us. I
always felt a little guilty about that — elevating us like that.
[Chuckles] It was like it was a deliberate thing. I never felt
that there was any reason for it. I know that there was a lot of
kidding around in the committees but generally everyone attended
and worked. Constituents, reporters and lobbyists would come to
committee hearings in Sacramento.
72
Chall: Did you find yourself comfortable about questioning witnesses
during committee hearings?
Sankary: I didn't have any trouble with that.
Chall: Then in the committees themselves when you were just working alone,
were you listened to? Were you paid attention to?
Sankary: Like if I presented a bill of mine to somebody else's committee?
Yes, I felt confident and respected.
Chall: Either that or arguing your points within the committee. The
committees had to vote on whether or not that bill was going either
to another committee or to the floor and that's where you would have
to discuss and argue.
Sankary: I think it was always done previously and privately. I didn't feel
slighted by others although I felt a little unsure of myself at
times. I was getting an education and therefore I was willing to
listen. I don't recall any committee hearing that we actually got
into any arguments or trying to convince each other. It all seemed
pretty cut and dried in the committee. When an issue would come up
and we all knew how one side would vote and how the other side
would vote, there might be just laughter and banter across — "Well,
of course, we know how you're going to vote" or something like that.
But not any real pressure between the legislators.
Chall: So the work actually in committee was done by taking testimony and
then it was just pro forma, either getting it out or killing it.
Sankary: Yes, it seemed to all just go without a lot of inter-committee
discussion. At least I don't recall ever having any large arguments
in the committee between committee members. They either had their
minds made up before or were so familiar with it that anything
anyone else said was just all familiar territory being covered and
tolerated because it was for the benefit of the press.
Chall: You were concerned, as I recall it, with a number of bills that
were dropped into the hopper and there were — I think — four thousand
or so the year you were there. It was quite difficult to get a
handle on very many of them.
Sankary: Yes, it was. Yes — that was too many bills — so many duplications
too. To me it seemed like such a waste of money; it didn't seem
like an efficient manner of running government to me. [Laughter]
I could see so many things I would have liked to change.
[The following question and answer were added during editing.]
Chall : Can you now recall any?
73
Sankary: First, that there should be a limit on campaign spending.
Second, that no large contribution can be made by special
groups.
Third, that the members of the legislature be made to vote
what's best for the whole state rather than the divisive practice of
each pulling for his own constituents, his own district.
Fourth, that a screening process avoid all duplication in
bills entered.
Fifth, that all silly and personal resolutions and comments be
eliminated or outlawed.
Sixth, that no committee hearings in either house be scheduled
at the same time as voting in your chamber.
Seventh, that lobbyists be forbidden in the halls or in the
chambers at all times.
Eighth, that a bill should only be considered by one committee
before presented to the whole house.
Ninth, that every legislator be forced to take a stand on
every bill and not refrain from voting even if he is absent.
Chall: How many days would you stay in Sacramento?
Sankary: I always stayed the full week. I never came home before Friday.
Chall: And then you flew back?
Sankary: Yes, Monday morning.
Chall: So you would come in Friday night and leave Sunday night or
early Monday morning.
Sankary: This is something that bothered me in Crawford's campaign. He
kept saying I was absent all the time. I think I can say without
exception he never made one truthful statement. I can't think of
one statement he made that was true. Every single thing he uttered
was a lie and so many people behind him did so too — it was really
a shock.
Chall: So it was very hard to even set your own record straight?
Sankary: Yes, in the Copely press. I am so naive even now that I am
suffering from shock recalling the things they would do. [Laughter]
I can't seem to harden up and accept the fact that people are bad
dudes at times.
74
Chall: Somebody has said that politicians have to accept the fact that
there's a dark side to people.
Sankary: I've never learned that. How long does it take to learn?
Chall: Maybe you never will.
Sankary: I'm just so shocked at the things people do with their life. Life
is so short!
Chall: Since we're going to skip over all of legislation now, how about the
governor? What was your impressions of the administration and of
Governor Goodwin Knight while you were there? Did you pay much
attention to it?
Sankary: Yes. I was very disappointed in a lot of ways and yet he was a very
personable person — a jolly, friendly guy. I have a letter where he
invited me down to see him on a certain day and it happened to be the
first day of April. I have a little note on it for my secretary to
call and find out if he really wanted me there or was it an April
Fool's joke. [Chuckles] I really love April Fool's jokes.
Chall: Maybe somebody else sent it to you.
Sankary: No, I went down there anyway.
[end tape 3, side B; begin tape 4, side A]
Sankary: I gathered from the kind of vetoes he made and the things that he
was for — despite his friendly exterior — that he was a very political
man who did what was expedient rather than what was good for the
people. I disagreed with him so much and particularly a bill we
worked very hard on. This was a measure authored by, I think,
Delbert Morris, that received an eight-eight vote in the Judiciary
Committee. In fact the tie vote was to kill the bill.
So after that we took the bill out and I went to work with
Morris, a stranger to me. I rounded up enough votes in the assembly
to withdraw the bill from the committee and we lobbied it through
the assembly. I talked to all the assemblymen to get it through the
assembly. The bill dealt with violence in magazines and comic
books — it had to do with violence.
Chall: One of the newspaper articles said you voted for a bill outlawing
crime and lewd comic books. "'The bill would exempt newspaper
comics,' she said."
Sankary: Then all of the lobbyists representing the newspapers, and books —
and magazine distributors were lobbying this heavily because they
said it would be press censorship. I worked harder on it, I think,
GOODWIN J. KNIGHT
GOVERNOR
74a
Calif 0rma
GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
SACRAMENTO
April 1, 1955
Honorable Ivan a a Sanizary
Member of trie Assembly
State Capitol
£?cr£.:.:ento 1^, California
Dear i-:rs. San^cary:
Vouid appreciate your corrdng down
to the office ir^ediately to discuss a
particular subject with me.
Regards.
>*±
Governor
GJKje
75
Sankary: than Mr. Morris did. Then I actually went to the senate committee
with him and worked on it there and we got it through the senate.
All of that time — the weeks, and the hours, and the effort we put in.
Getting everyone to vote for it was something in the face of all those
lobbyists — and when it got up to Goodie Knight he vetoed it!
So when I was campaigning after that and I was running for
reelection, I mentioned it I think once or twice and, boy, he sent
a representative to me and asked me to stop mentioning his name. He
was very careful about his image. He didn't want me mentioning that.
Chall: Do you have any recollection of what brought that particular bill
up? Were there some very, very bad comic books coming out at that
time?
Sankary: No; but I think if I'm not mistaken, I put in a bill that would
eliminate violence in movies — not sex in movies, but just violence —
and I got the movie industry lobbyist down on top of me. The bill
got nowhere, it probably died in committee. He gave me a very
special invitation to come to Hollywood. He was trying to con me
out of the idea. He was going to take me through all the movie
studios and introduce me to these movie stars. I never went. I
was concerned about violence on television and in movies because
these things had long been bothering me.
Chall: Do you recall whether that was on your own? You have a little
packet of bills I notice — that were your bills — so that will
probably be among them. But when you're a freshman legislator
and new about all of this as you were, I would think that it would
have been hard to even know how to get a bill in.
Sankary: I found out all you had to do was to go to the library and they
write your bill for you.
Chall: So you just told them what you wanted —
Sankary: Yes. You see, not having any issues, when I ran across something
like Mr. Morris's bill then I became personally, and emotionally
interested in what would be good for children.
Chall: So you were concerned then about violence in the movies — did you
get a bill in about movie violence?
Sankary: I don't know if I actually got one in or not. I know that I got a
lot of static when I mentioned it. I think I requested it printed
and got a bill going, but I don't know how far it really went. But
I remembered it wasn't only their lobbies, but a lot of people,
many legislators, told me to put it off, till I was more effective
and had more power to succeed with it.
76
Cnall: Yes, it would have been a First Amendment issue as it is now. They're
still struggling with the same thing.
Sankary: Gee, I hope I put a bill in. I hope I did. I know I intended to.
I can't remember. I wish I had more information for you. My
memory is not the best.
Chall: Well, anybody who wants to can find it in the record. But this
Morris bill then you kind of took up on your own?
Sankary : Yes .
Chall: And it was vetoed by the governor?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: You don't know how Morris felt about that, do you?
Sankary: No, I don't know how he felt about it but I have names of all the
people who voted against it. Caldecott, Dolwig, Bruce Allen,
Caspar Weinberger, Fleury. Expediency dictated it, undoubtedly —
campaigns to think about, personal advancement. They wanted news
paper support.
Chall: This was in the Judiciary Committee?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: Who voted for it?
Sankary: Bradley, surprisingly; he's a conservative Republican. Brady, Dickey,
Lyon, MacMillan, Miller, and H. Allen Smith.
Chall: That was kind of mixed. It wasn't along party lines. Since the
vote of the committee is important, how about the caucuses. You
were participating in the Democratic caucus. How important was the
Democratic caucus?
Sankary: It didn't seem to be very important. I don't recall we ever took
a solid stand on anything.
Chall: What did you do in the caucuses then?
Sankary: I think we discussed a stand on bills and ended up in disagreement.
We didn't have a united front. There's nothing I can say about the
caucus of significance.
77
A Legislator's Typical Day
Sankary: I have an article here that gives my description of a routine of the
legislature.* Would you be interested in that? It says [reading
and paraphrasing], Arriving at the office at 8:00; several people
waiting to talk about one piece of legislation or another. Senate
committee hearings start at 9:00 A.M. If you have a bill before
that committee you have to round up your witnesses and present your
arguments there and you're due at your own roll call at 9:30 which
is in the assembly chambers, where voting on six thousand measures
proceeds until 3:00 P.M. — occasionally having no break for lunch.
That's true.
Assembly committee hearings starting at three." I had six
committee hearings a week running as late as 1:30 in the morning:
"listening to opponents and proponents of legislation; mail — having
to consider a lot of mail.
I remember Senator Richards from L.A. got several bags of
mail and mine would just be about that high. [Gestures, indicating
about one foot.] Still it was a lot of mail to read.
[Continues to read] If they didn't identify the bill you had
to track it down. What are they talking about? You had to look
for the particular bill.
Then the bill is heard in several committees and it goes down
to the floor for voting and before the other house. Then the bill
may be amended as many as a dozen times and start through committees
all over again. Approximately six thousand bills introduced; amend
ments and changes; weekend visits; public appearances, telephone
calls, and interviews at home. There was no resting.
During the interim between sessions, measures that failed to
pass the vote or were vetoed by the governor, needed more study.
These were considered by interim committees.
They said it was very rare for a freshman to get on an interim
committee — which I didn't request — but they put me on this Joint
Senate-Assembly Committee on Highways. When the legislature ended
then I was traveling around the state looking at highways. I was
also on the Assembly Interim Committee on Finance and Insurance.
I don't remember any specific legislation this committee considered.
*The Southeastern Times, December 15, 1955
Thursdoy, December 15, 1955
77a
Legislature Routine Is
Rugged Says Assemblywoman
Wanda Sankary, State Assemblywoman whose 79th
District covers a large part of Southeast San Piego, is
the lady who was recently challenged in a story published
in the daily press with charges of missing a large portion
of the recent legislative sessions this year. When
questioned by THE TIMES' reporter, Mrs. Sankary denied
the charge, stating that she seldom missed a session of
the Assembly, including evening and Saturday meetings.
That the work of a California legislator is not simple
or easy, is attested by the story below which is now some
weeks old in the Editor's basket/but still good and to the
point.
Mrs. Wanda Sankary, on re
turn from Sacramento at the end
of the Assembly session reported
it to be a most grueling one, in
which she was thankful for her
robust health and endurance.
During the 120 day session of
the State Legislature, six legis
lators died from the strain. A
typical day in the life of an as
semblywoman would be as fol
lows:
On arriving at her office at
8 a.m., she finds several people
waiting' to talk about one piece
of legislation or another. Senate
Committee hearings start at 9
a.m. r-n<J if she has a bill sched
uled for hearing there, she rounds
up her witnesses and prepares to
the Assembly Chambers, where
voting on 6000 measures proceeds
until 3 p.m., occasionally having
no break whatever for lunch.
Assembly committees begin at 3
p.m. Mrs. Sankary (being a
member of five committees) had
six committee hearings a week
running until 1:30 a.m. at times.
In sitting on these committees,
she would listen to arguments of
proponents and opponents of leg
islation coming before that com
mittee and consider mail from
constituents relative to the mat
ters being heard. Daily mail,
after opening, created a stack of
papers about one foot high,
taking hours to read and answer.
Usually, the legislation to which
a letter referred, had to be
present the arguments before the tracked down at a great cost of
particular committee. She >s due
for her own roll call at 9:30 in
The Southeastern Times
time for often the letter failed to
give the number of the bill or
otherwise properly identify it.
When a bill is introduced, it is
heard by the proper committee
i or several • committees of one
i house, then it goes down to the
l floor of that house for voting
I and then to the proper committee
I or committees of the other house
[and then to the floor of that
[second house. At any stage in
jthis process the bill may be
j amended, as many as a dozen
I times, and-be started through the
I committee's- all" over again. There-
jfore, although there were approx
imately 6000 bills introduced,
amendments' and changes neces
sitated their being read and re
read several times, before th$
legislator could intelligently vote
;upon them.
j Mrs. Sankary's weekend visits j
home with, her family were |
crowded with public appearances,
telephone calls and interviews on '
legislative matters.
During the interim measures
that failed to pass both houses
or were "vetoed by the Governor,
I measures in other words that
| need more study before being
I made into law will be heard and
(considered by interim commit
tees. Mrs. Sankary has been ap
pointed to one interim commit
tee of great importance. It is a
joint Senate and Assembly Com
mittee on Transportation prob
lems. : • .•'.." _.-.
Chall:
Sankary:
Chall:
Sankary:
78
What about the one that dealt with the death penalty. I noticed
you were going around on some of those hearings with the Judiciary
Committee. I don't know whether that was an interim committee or
not. You were opposed to the death penalty?
Yes.
You were taking testimony in Los Angeles — a hearing out of
Sacramento.
I vaguely remember that there was an emotional fight on that.
1 was dead set against it.
But
Chall: You had taken your stand apparently. It was already known.
Sankary: Yes. I took that cause as my own even though it was on a committee
that wasn't one of mine and it did come eventually before the
Assembly Judiciary Committee. I was in favor of the abolition of
the death penalty because there was a lot of evidence that it is
no effective deterrent to murders and killings and that many persons
executed were mentally ill even though "legally sane." I also urged
that the law defining this "legal sanity" be changed and clarified.
We also considered the fact that thirty other countries had
already eliminated the death penalty and that from '45 to '55 in
California there were 3,500 homicides and only eighty-seven exe
cutions. So I thought that indicated a growing reluctance to
execute criminals. The facts were that most convicted murderers had
never before been convicted of any serious crime.
Chall: Mail usually gets very heavy on the death penalty. Do you recall
your mail then?
Sankary: No, I don't recall having much mail on that.
Consideration of Issues and Bills
Sankary: I would be approached by groups and people to put in certain
bills and that's how most of my bills got in... at someone else's
suggestion.
Chall: Having gotten them in, did you work hard for them? I think some
legislators will put in a bill, even if it's a foolish bill from
a constituent that can't pass, and he's not going to work hard for
it.
Sankary: I never did that.
78a
Says Sankary
Assemblywoman Wanda San
kary (D-San Diego) said today
•s a result of a recent Los
Angeles hearing by an Assem-l
bly subcommittee she would
"be inclined to agree with the
abolition of capital ^punishment
In Calif irnia.""1 "^-/V
She cited h?r main reasons
as "religions and moral."
"The Ten Commandants
should be the supreme law of
the land," she said.
Member of Committee
Mrs. Sankary sat as a mem-
her of a subcnmmitee of the
Assembly Judiciary Commit
tee, studying capital punish
ment. She is the only woman
in California history lo he a
member of the Judiciary Com
mittee, members said. The
committee will make a report
of its findings at the 1957 Leg
islature.
Bills outlawing or limiting
capital punishment were Intro
duced in the last Legislature
but were not enacted.
Mrs. Sanitary said she was
also impressed hy evidence
that Ihe death penalty appears
to be no effective deterrent to
murders.
Witnesses I'rjje ("hangA
Another compelling reason
presented at Ihe hearing for,
abolition of the death penalty
was that many persons ex-
rented were menliilly ill al
though legally sane, she said.
A change in the law defining
the defense of insanity was]
urged by witnesses before the:
committee.
Another suggestion before the
committee would make the ex
treme penalty po^ihle only
when specifically recom
mended by a jury. Views at
the hearing were expressed by
law school deans, ministers,
Judges and attorneys.
Other homicide facts heard
hy the committee at the hear
ing, included. Mrs. Sankary re-,
ported :
In 30 other rounliies 1he|
death penalty has been abol
ished.
Five Offenses Included
In California, there are five
offenses which carry the death
penalty, in addition to treason.
They are first-degree murder,
kidnaping, train wrecking, per
jury resulting in the execution
of an innocent person and as-
cault by a life term prisoner.
Methods of execution in the
United States are:
Electrocution, hanging, lethal
gas (California) and shooting.
Krom 1945 to 1935 in Califor
nia there were 3,500 homicides
and only 87 executions, indicat
ing a growing reluctance to ex
ecute criminals.
Most convicted murderers
have never before been convict-
fd of a serious crime.
Governor Goodwin Knight
signing Wanda Sankary bill
1955
.,'.--•
in the CallfoTTia /ss«tf ly ch*+. aa they leave the s-
cf the 195!? I-ecislature her.? today. All Denocrp.ta, thny
• ' r L-H:Cortliy Dcjnahoe, Bakers field, Wanda Snnkary, 5ar. Pie^o,
^ne Davis of Fortola.(AIVI'1JI»iOTC) (rh31b30stf-r ' .
79
Chall: You only took bills that you felt were —
Sankary: That I approved of and I worked for them. Yes, I did.
Chall: Do you have any idea what happened to some of them? For example,
your first bill AB933 shortened the waiting period on needy blind
appeals. It got through the committee hurdle, and was given a pass
by the Assembly Social Welfare Committee. The bill then had to pass
the full assembly and senate before becoming law. What would you
have done about that kind of bill; do you recall?
Sankary: I went before the senate committee and tried to convince them, and
I don't recall if I succeeded or not, or whether the governor signed
it or not.
Chall: At least you tried.
Sankary: Yes. I'd go all the way. Let me see, under 'B1 you have — these
would be things that I would vote for? [Looks at outline of topics
prepared for the interview.]
Chall: Those are the bills — from what little information I have about
you — the ones that you sponsored.*
Sankary: Yes with regard to putting traffic control on private roads — if the
sheriff's association or someone like that would contact me I would
try to help. New judgeships: judges prevailed on me to do that.*
Chall: Yes, that was successful.
Sankary: The seawater conversion I mentioned before.* Food surpluses to the
needy. At that time there was a lot of food in our storage that the
federal government had to pay for — just a lot of storage of food
and grain and it was a big expense. I felt that was a good idea.*
[Reading down the list] Then I was trying to protect the old
people on old age assistance from having all their relatives pro
secuted; trying to end the restrictions against allowing the
permanently crippled to obtain liquor licenses.
Then when it came to sales taxes, this is important. I felt
that there shouldn't be a sales tax on restaurant meals or food.
These very important bills that I authored and on which a couple of
fcFor additional depth on many of these issues, see chapter IV.
79a
HEWS RLLLASt: • ASSEMSLTWOKAS VAKDA SARKATC
March 17, 1955
rreehaa:: Aiseablywonan Wand* Sankary (D*San Di«£0) cot her
first bill, « nriAiure shortening the waiting period on needy blind
•p;>oals, L.-'OU^:. the oormittee hurdle yc»terd*7.
I'er bill, A, J. 933* va* £iven a unaniaoua 'do pasa1 by the
Aeser&ly Social . eU'aro Co-v.itteo, of which ah* la vice ehalriaan*
The bill ahortene the waiting period fron a year to 90 daye
in c&sefc where a per eon hae been denied needy blind aid and wiehec
tc a;;..cfcl the uecleloa. It alec makoa the »un« chaise in the law
applying to partially •elf-auppcrtir.^ blind caeea*
The bill nuat now pass the full AarerJbly and fenate before
law.
79b
LE GJSLA TOR: LISTS ACHIEVEMENTS
»i r~v t r> t t a i ?~ . . - - . .-..- _ .-. ,,.._-_^_.
5
an scary
Women'!
'elfore Fight
By ARTHUR K111BKI. jlion women' in Cnlirornia. but
Her fight for woinrn's richlsionly three women are mem-
was the hi£h mark of horlbcrs of the Legislature. The
freshman >ear as a lcsislator,|o t h e r s are Assemblywomen
Assemblywoman Wandji San--Paullne Davis (D-Portola^ and
karvJD-San Dicpo' said"7<j3Sy Dorothy M. Donahoc (D-Bak-
j:V ;i"n interview here. /?** ;ersficlil>.
Another wa.« the signing by "I'm going to make women's
Cov. Knipht last Friday of her welfare my project." said Mrs.
bill giving San Diezo two more;Sar;kary.
Superior Court judges, she said.i She said she "adopted" a bill
Mrs. Sankary returned from a'introduced by Assemblyman
vacation she" started after thcjCharles Chapel (R-Inglewood)
recent adjournment of the Leg-lwhich would provide equal pay
islnture. 'for women with abilities match
She said there are seven mil-ling those of men.
The bill, "opposed by every
body." finally was killed in an
other committee after she
pushed it through the Assembly
Industrial Relations Commit
tee, she said.
Mrs. Sankary argued that,
many women are family
breadwinners and do work for
which men get much higher
pay.
She said she helped kill an
other bill which would separate
women from men in civil serv
ice lists certified to depart
ment heads for appointments.
I She said she also helped de
ifeat a bill which would ban
medical centers, providing low
'cost service by cooperative
i groups of doctors.
! She said she voted for a bill
outlawing crime and lewd com
ic books. The bill will exempt
newspaper comics, she said.
The bill passed both houses and
is awaiting signature by Gov.
Knight, she reported.
Mrs. Sankary said she tried
to get the sales tax removed
from food bought in restau
rants, but lost by one vote in,creat«d a State Water Depart
the Revenue and Taxation
Committee.
To streamline J e f I s lative
functions, a committee to
screen bills, should be created,
Mrs. Sankary suggested. Such
a group could eliminate a lot
of duplications and conflicting
bills and save time of legisla
tors, she said.
The water question should
have been settled at the last
session, Mrs. Sankary assert
ed. The Senate killed a "good
water bill," which would have
menl, she staled.
Mrs. Sanitary said she voted
against a bill to buy a site for
the San Luis Reservoir and the
Oroville Dam, key units in the
Feather River project to bring
water to Southern California,
because she felt it would ob
struct federal government de
velopment.
"Every vote I made was with
a clear conscience and not for
political reasons," she said.
Mrs. Sankary stated she would
run again "if the people want
me."
80
Sankary: other people joined me were Assembly Bills 291 and 931 which would
remove the sales taxes from foods and food products. The effort
failed, as I recall.
There was even a consideration of raising the sales tax on
gasoline and cigarettes. Now, I would (knowing what cigarettes do
to people) I would have increased it a thousandfold. But the
reason I was opposed to the sales tax at all is because it would
hit the smaller income people, the great majority of the masses
of the people, and I would be in favor of taxing the rich instead.
So that was the background —
Chall: Now, you were criticized for that because, according to the news
paper, Governor Knight was needing all the taxes he could get to
balance the budget and here you were trying to delete some type
of tax.
Sankary: I recall that but I felt there were a lot of tax loopholes. For
instance, I felt that inheritance should be taxed very high. I
don't think people should pass on fortunes from one individual to
another. I felt then and I still do that a small amount could be
inherited but not great vast fortunes — I would be in favor of
taxing that. People accumulate big fortunes out of greed. The
things that people will do for money; if they know that at the end
of their lives it's all going to be the state's, you would cut out
some of these great big estates. So there were other sources of
income to tax.
Chall: Who would have come to you with that?
Sankary: On sales taxes?
Chall: Yes.
Sankary: I know that the old people's lobby was quite prominent at that
time and there was a young woman attorney — I don't remember her
name, Bobby somebody — who was a lobbyist and I felt she was my
friend. I know I was quite influenced by her and George McLain.
Chall: He was an influential person in Sacramento at that time.
Sankary: Not him. I mean I didn't like him as a person but I knew that in
San Diego we had an awful lot of retired, older population. So it
was legislation concerning them that was important to me. There
fore I only listened to what McLain said was good, important. I
liked the young woman working for him. I forget her name.
Teachers' wages — I was very sympathetic with teachers. I
always felt that in San Diego the administrators were top heavy —
spending a lot of money and that it didn't trickle down to the
teachers and students — at that time at least.
81
Sankary: Let's see, the tidelands oil bill didn't affect me terribly much.
It would now. I would get very interested in all aspects now!
Should I go on with this?
Chall: Yes.
Sankary: The state water department bill. Now, let me see, I have
some notes here. What the legislature accomplished: My notes say
three major problems confronted them: water, oil funds, and flood
damage. [reading from old notes] "The new Department of Water
fiesources was created. This water department will assume duties
previously handled by the state engineer, the Department of Public
Works, Department of Finance, Water Project Authority, and include
the power to build and operate the Feather River project." I voted
for the Feather River project so I must have voted for that. Did
you find that I did not?
Chall: I don't know how you voted because I haven't gone into the legislative
record. I do know, however, that at the end of the first session
in 1955 there was a bill which would have created the State Water
Department. "The Senate killed a 'good water bill,'" you said, so
you may very well have voted for it. However, you voted against a
bill, which was probably a different bill, "to buy a site for the
San Luis Reservoir and the Oroville Dam key units in the Feather
River project to bring water to Southern California."* You felt
it would obstruct federal government development, you claimed. So
you did vote to set up a better organized water department, but you
voted against the San Luis Reservoir bill.
[Mrs. Sankary now reads excerpts from the material she wrote
concerning her responses to the major issues facing the legislature
during 1955-1956. This may be read in its entirety in the following
pages.]
Sankary: Here in these other notes is where I voted to liberalize regulations
so that California veterans could obtain loans for farm and home
purchase and treatment clinics for alcoholics.
Chall: It appears that in two cases, water and transportation, it was as
much a north-south battle as certainly it would have been a political
party controversy. This was where the north and south divided and
you were inclined to listen to your local lobbyists and other people
even though in one case you voted against them.
San Diego Tribune, June 27, 1955
81a
Material prepared for 1956 campaign.
It outlines the major issues of the 1955-1956 legislative
session and Mrs. Sankary's record during her first term in
the assembly.
SANKAKY, hetaoer of State Assembly 7?th District, aroused
international Interest by being; the only woman in American politics to
campaign during a pregnancy and giving birth to her son on last election
day 'vNoveraJer, 1.1^) at the sane time that election returns were coming
in.
Mrs. Sankaiy is 3° years of age, is an attorney -at -law and practiced
law with ner husband until her election. Her husband is in the unique
position of being tne only person out of a pdpulatlon of 13 million Cal-
iiornians to have a wife in the State Legislature. She is the mo trier 01
2 children, the younger boy being adopted 6 months after the birth of her
s;n and sne is raising them as twins.
Fortunately Krs. Sankary's physical and mental stamina enabled ne:-
t; sear uf. .inder the rigorous schedule maintained. During he.- first
secs-or. in Sacramento tnere were 13 deaths - all 'of whom were men - snc
Ksr.-j others who becarr.e ill dje to the terrific mental and physical^
pressures.
jk
Her attendance was full time and this is a matter of public recoru.
D-ring the 2 year term of office she has had a total of 6 absences - ^
of those being on 2 hour week-end Saturday morning sessions on matters
of purely technical and non-controversial nature in which most of the
legislators were gone. (It must be remembered that Mrs. Sankary had a
nev: born baby and therefore came home every week-end at her owa expense
to be with her baby). You may recall a remark made by one of her.
opponents accusing her of absenteeism which is a deliberate misrepresent
ation. (You who are with me in this campaign will agree that we want
to wir. honestly and by honorable methods, or not win at all. I will
never resort to false statements in order to win any battle.
Mrs. Sankary has received the endorsement and backing of all organ
ized labor on the basis of her excellent voting record during her first
term. She has received a signal honor in having a national magazine, the
April issue of the Ladies Home Journal, choose her among 333 women in
legislators all over the United States for a picture and story on out
standing women in government.
She is an aggressive member of 6 powerful committees and is Vice-
-1-
81b
Chairman of the Social Welfare Committee. They are Finance and Insurance;
Industrial Relations; Transportation and Commerce; the Joint Senate
Assembly Committee on Highways; Social Welfare and Judiciary. She is the
only member of the San Diego delegation on the all-powerful Judiciary
Committee on which only attorneys may sit. Judiciary deals with a vast
variety of legislation touching on your everyday lives, such as Juvenile
delinquency, narcotics, banking and loan company regulations, etc. In
the -session just completed in Sacramento, she was placed on 2 additional
committees of vital importance - one - Juveniel Delinquency (a subcommittee
of the Judiciary Committee) and two - Youth Employment (which deals witn
setting up a program of Jobs and recreation for young people).
Mrs. Sankary is responsible for obtaining 2 additional Superior Courts
and 2 additional Municipal Courts in San Diego. She started the ball
rolling by authoring a Resolution by all of the California legislators
urging Congress to place Sea Water Conversion Plants and Experiments in
San Diego. She co-authored the Resolution memorializing Congress to up
hold the decision of the Supreme Court concerning desegregation. Sne also
authored a resolution for the Federal Government to enable persons re
ceiving Old Age Benefits to earn up to $53.00 a month without deduction
of their benefits. She authored a Food Stamp Bill which
Her voting record is one to be proud of and she is proud of it. The
first session is one of education, becoming acquainted with legislative
and administrative leaders, and learning "legislative know how". This
experience is invaluable and will enable her to serve even more effectively
during the next 2 years.
However, the first session with a consideration of over 6,003 bills in
90 days, is a very confusing and hectic one even for the old timers.
-2-
81c
Being on so many committees which met late into each night added to the
difficulty. Receiving great volumes of mail - more than any others it is
believed - required hours of time to read, investigate and answer.
Judiciary handles the greatest number of bills of all - about 1/5 or 1/4
of all of the 6,000 were argued first before the Judiciary committee.
Thus, for a freshman legislator to have an admirable voting record in her
first year, is even more commendable. Mrs. Sankary is not ashamed of a
single vote. She never yielded to pressure from selfish pressure groups.
Her legal training stood her in good stead. She could read and understand
the technical legal language that laws are written in. She voted - in
a word - for human welfare - for the people - not for her own political
advantage - and she stands on her voting record.
#s a result, the pressure to unseat her is exerted by the press for
example, because they would prefer to have some one who acceeds to their
demands (and then in exchange get better newspaper treatment^, they
would prefer to have, in other words, a politician in government who is
willing to be as dishonest as the newspaper men are rather tnan an
aggressive servant of the people who is less concerned with her own
political future than with the welfare of the people and the promotion
of good government. Yes - the power of the press and of other powerful
interests is tremendous. If she doesn't get elected because their power
is too great, then she will lose with a clear conscience that she stood as
staunchly as she could for the people's welfare.
Take for example the speakership fight
See Newspaper Clipping
What the Legislature accomplished:
Three major problems confronted the legislature - water, oil funds and
flood damage. There were two phases of water problems: a new Department of
Water Resources was created. This Water Department will assume duties
previously handled by State Engineer, Department of Public >lor\is, Depart
ment of Finance, Water Project Authority includes power to build and
operate Feather River Project under the State tfeter Plan.
-3-
81d
Secondly - the budget included an item of $9,000,000.00 (Nine
Million Dollars) for appropriations of dam sites, make plans for re
location of highways and railroads, in short - to launch the Feather
River Project. But it fell short of actual construction. Such a bill
to amend the budget was defeated. I voted in favor of it. Reason for
its failure, many Southerners feel that no money should be appropriated
for the State Water plan until the "County of origin" problem is settled
preferably by Constitutional Amendment. The Counties of origin of the
water up north presently have under the law the right to all the water
they want. If some time in the future they need more water they could
take it from us in the south. Although we have greater need of it, and
even though we have paid millions of dollars for dams and aqueducts to
carry it down here. So the legislature, unfortunately, put off again
the settling of these water rights and as a result no construction of
the water project was authorized.
SEE NEWSPAPER CLIPPING
The next major issue was disposition of the oil royalty funds
accruing to the State. First the legislature passed a law allocating
the first seven million dollars to beaches and parks, threee million
dollars to the general fund, and any remainder to a "special investment
fund", which can be spent only by vote of legislature.
Secondly, one hundred and twenty million dollars of the Long Beach
royalties came into the State treasury by way of a compromise agreement
between the legislature and the city of Long Beach officials, plus about
fifteen million dollars a year henceforth. This was a fierce controvery
wh^ch by this compromise was. finally settled*^-^ /*Co« <@'*~«M.^-s^<sL<
As to the flood damage issues, we in the south agreed that we should
find means of providing assistance to the flood stricken areas of the
State. The question was HOW? Bear in mind that most of the people in
California live in Southern California, in fact south of the Tehachapi's.
Therefore, they, through their taxes, pay for most of what the State does.
The flood and fire damage occurred in the North and expenditures of
our tax funds up there would of course accrue to their benefit and
81e
much less to ours. We have been waiting for highways here. For example,
for development of Highway 83 to Imperial Valley for about 16 years.
Always, the excuse is lack of funds. Yet 38 million dollars was needed to
repair flood damaged highways in the north resulting from last December
and January floods.
3 sources were possible: 1 - take the highway tax funds available
and thus delay already scheduled construction; 2 - raise the gasoline
tax enough to cover the cost; 3 - use surpluses. I favored the latter
and opposed the former two. There is a rainy day fund of 75 million
dollars and a bond retirement fund of 15 million dollars standing intact.
What resulted instead was a measure which appropriated 25 million
dollars mostly from the State general fund - and so the Budget was the
largest in history - one billion, eight million dollars and this -
without raising taxes. I will never favor raising taxes as long as
our great surpluses remain, and as long as appropriations of that size
can be made and still balance the budget.
The legislature also - besides alleviating flood destruction, took
constructive steps to provide greater flood protection and control;
It also created a State planning agency to assist Cities and Cc-r.ties
on e State wide scale to exercise real property planning functions;
It also liberalized the conditions which which California veterans
snay obtain loans for farm and home purchases.
The California legislature memorialized Congress of tne United States
to place Sea Water Conversion experiment plants in San Diego - in anywhere
in the State. I was the author of this and the results are already
being seen. Local papers are carrying the stories of
SEE NEu'SPAPEK CLIPPING
The legislature also provided for the establishment of treatment
clinics for alcoholics; also increased salaries
-5-
82
Sankary: Yes and that was in trying to save the state money since the federal
government had started it.
Chall: You don't recall, however, whether you were really concerned about
the federal reclamation laws or simply opposed to the state building
the reservoir because of finances? The 160-acre limit, which is
the heart of it, is now again in focus and that was what was behind
all that lobbying at that time. How much people were aware of it I
don't know.
Sankary: Yes, we were aware of it. I remember that argument and I know I felt
there should be that limitation — the 160 acres.
Chall: So in the first instance you did vote what would have been your
conscience and, the second time around, you did not — you voted with
the southern faction. The weighing of the issue, as a north-south
consideration is very important.
Sankary: Yes, because you try to do what's best for the whole state. Then I
recall often being told that you should vote your district. That
was another kind of conflict: what's best for the state or should
I go with this one little corner of the state — what we want selfish
ly.
Chall: You balanced it — is that it, as you could?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: Well, that's always a part of the legislative problems. Is that
one of the things that you objected to about being a legislator?
Sankary: Yes, I think on the whole a person should vote what's best for the
whole state.
[end tape 4, side A; begin tape 4, side B]
Chall: Is there anything else that you can recall that you would want to
take up?
Sankary: I don't think I did anything else. [Chuckles] I was just busy
trying to keep my head above water. It seems confusing; I didn't
really have any real great driving issue. Since it is over twenty
years ago and such voluminous material to be suddenly mired in — my
memory is unfortunately very scanty. I should have kept a diary.
Chall: What you did was just to work hard on whatever seemed important to
you?
Sankary: Yes. Just study what people brought to me, what seemed good to
me, that someone else needed. But 1^ didn't have any cause of my
own. I wasn't thinking of what would improve my chances to elevate
83
Sankary: myself, it would seem. You might say I had no vision, right? It
seemed that first session was such a surprise, I hadn't really
thought about it. Like when the baby came, I remember feeling
surprise. Who is this and what do I do with him? [Laughter] I
got into the campaign and made sure I won and there I was. I wasn't
ready to do something with it. They both occurred at once. I had
concentrated on my law practice, and on my campaign and didn't
think ahead. One track mind. I still do that. When I have some
thing to accomplish it takes all my thoughts, attention, total
occupation. Maybe it's because I am of a pure blood strain, not a
mixture of nationalities. I'm a first generation American with
things to accomplish, a singleness of purpose. I'm as intense, and
tense as any other thoroughbred animal. But my life is ruled more
by emotions; my heart prevails over my head, and that, in my case,
has prevented my going to the top, professionally. I had the
ability, but I am a romantic first. My family meant more to me
than anything.
Evaluating Politics
Women in Politics
Chall: How do you look back then on that experience? Let me ask you
this, do you think that women make a difference as legislators and
did you? Do they and did you?
Sankary: I think I had more effect as a beginning legislator than I had
ever dreamed I would and — more than others do, or did. I think
just being able to kill that one bad bill — the medical society
one — was an accomplishment that justified my being there. It was
such an important piece of legislation to the general public. They
can never stop that now — pre-paid group medical care.
Chall: Did you find yourself differing in opinions on legislation because
you were a woman? Because you had a different approach to life
than the men did?
Sankary: No — unless I was more sympathetic to the poor, the blind, and the
aged. I don't know if women are more sensitive that way or not.
Generally women would be softer I think.
Chall: That, of course, is one of the reasons why men are supposed never
to have wanted them in government — but that doesn't necessarily
mean that's a bad thing. It's perhaps true. But in looking at
yourself, you're not sure that you looked at things differently?
84
SanKary;
Chall:
Sankary ;
I never felt different either in law school or in the legislature
from the men—in thinking. I never felt that I was different in
any way. When somebody would say, "Well, it's good to have women
here — it's a balance," I always kind of wondered what they meant
because I personally never felt women were different.
Would you encourage women to go into public office?
encourage them if you have the opportunity?
Do you
I am so disappointed in our elections that I am almost at the
point of believing that people should not have the vote. I just
can't believe the way the populace votes and is sold a bill of
goods over and over and over.
There's so much evil in the press. I remember a reporter
telling me years ago before I became a candidate that the San Diego
newspaper was the worst one he had ever worked for. He had worked
for many papers but this one actually changed the news — eliminated
facts and was so dishonest. In view of our country allowing all
this to happen and the people being constantly sold down the
river against their own interests — I just despair for it.
It's often such a bitter experience that I would not advise
anyone wno was sensitive at all to go into politics. I found
many people agreed with me after I told them, "Don't go into
politics. You'll have your heart beaten to a pulp." They said
that they remembered that and years later they said, "Yes, she's
right. It's just a rotten game."
Chall: So you really don't encourage anybody to go into the legislature
or into politics.
Sankary: It's a very bitter, difficult experience. There are a lot of
wonderful, exciting things happening too and at first you enjoy the
adulation — the acclaim — being prominent, and the prestige, and
some of the privileges. But eventually — and very soon after I
was elected I just longed — just yearned for anonymity. When you
lose that, you feel almost as bad as when you lose your health.
Now when I see people cracking up who are movie stars or
athletes — someone who isn't prepared for sudden fame, I know
exactly what they're going through — that constant badgering by the
press and the telephones, and people around. You have no privacy.
You can't step out of your bedroom. [Laughter] You're just
surrounded always. That pressure just builds up where you just
long for anonymity.
Chall: So it was really difficult for you to be in the fish bowl as it
were?
85
Sankary;
Chall:
Yes, as are most people who are sensitive,
crack up — movie stars....
I think many people
Yes, the people who are in the public eye all the time. Did you
feel that women react to stress differently from men as you watched
the men in the legislature, in a critical period, or in your own
campaign? Do you feel that women just find it harder to work under
stress than men? Is that a sexual thing?
The First Campaign Reviewed: Illness, Pregnancy, and Law Practice
Sankary: No, I don't think so. I think women find it harder in certain
circumstances because I had a much harder campaign from many
standpoints than any man. I was pregnant and then at the same time
I had this operation when I had to go into Cedars of Lebanon. I
don't know if I mentioned that.
Chall: No, you didn't.
Sankary: Well, for some reason my wrists swelled. They called it atrophy
in the transverse ligaments. For some reason that they never
knew when I became pregnant — it triggered something, caused the
ligaments to enlarge and tighten across both my wrists. This
resulted in my fingers swelling about that big [gestures, indica
ting extreme swelling] and my hands were real large. It was very,
very painful. I couldn't hold a pencil, or feed myself, or hold
the phone. I went to thirteen doctors and they all gave different
opinions. I sensed that they really didn't know what the diagnosis
was. They were going to cut into my shoulder blades, into my back
and my arms.
During that time I was pregnant, and campaigning, and
practicing law. So I was under a great deal of stress in addition
to the pain increasing and increasing. It was terrible. The
doctors put me on morphine as a pain killer and it didn't ever get
completely rid of the pain. As it increased, I kept doubling and
tripling this morphine. One day when I called to get a prescrip
tion refilled, the doctor refused to give me any more because the
baby was certain to be born an addict and he cut me off of it
completely. I remember going into hysteria and screaming.
A friend of ours was the wife of a medical man in L.A. — the
same couple who found Ronnie for me to adopt later. I got on the
train and went up there and she took me to Cedars of Lebanon. We
had exhausted the thirteen doctors in San Diego who were neurologists,
and orthopedists, aid everything else.
86
Sankary: So we were going to start again in L.A. She and her M.D. husband
put me in the hospital and got a battery of doctors. They diag
nosed a very rare malady. One doctor said that somehow he
remembered this peculiar ailment back in his medical schooling.
So they went into my wrists and cut the ligament. The
swelling went down immediately but they put me in a cast from
the tip of my fingers to my elbow. It was a real stiff cast —
Chall: Both arms?
Sankary: Both arms. There are so many nerves going through your hands that
they had to be Immobilized completely. I couldn't go to the bath
room alone. I couldn't reach up to brush my teeth or anything
because the cast was so thick — and that was how I was campaigning.
I put two white gloves on all the way to my elbows and I looked
ridiculous in those white gloves everywhere I went.
Then I was pregnant way out to here and I was really a
comical sight. I was so embarrassed. This was one reason I
adopted Ronnie because I went through such shame and embarrassment
in the public eye with this condition — double condition. I had had
it with pregnancies.
When I went on TV — all the candidates were always having to
appear. They deliberately would move the camera back to get the
full view of me. Oh, it was really torture. So I conclude that
no one could have a harder campaign than I because I really worked
all the time, and practiced law, and was in that's men's jail all
the time.
Chall: Men's jail?
Sankary: Yes, didn't 1 tell you about that?
Chall: No.
Sankary: Oh, dear, you must have forgotten! No? Well, I'll repeat it
briefly. It happened that there was a black man who had been in
jail for several months with a robbery charge — armed robbery — and
his trial came up. Our office represented him and my husband was
still tied up in some other trial so I had to go to this trial. My
husband said, "Oh, just do the best you can. You can't beat this
case. They've got him cold." But I somehow won that case and he
walked out free for the first time in months. Then every criminal
in the men's county jail decided that they wanted Mrs. Sankary
as the attorney. They were so impressed by this one win. So every
day I had to go down and interview a client in the men's jail.
[Laughter]
87
Sankary: Yes, I was pregnant and with this cast, but I spent the whole
summer in the men's jail. And in those days they didn't have
visiting rooms like our new jails, where you can talk, seated on a
chair. They put me right into the pad with all the prisoners there
and clanged the doors — those heavy bars — behind me. I can still
hear that crash. And there I was alone with all those awful-looking
men laying and sleeping on the bare cement — they were very crowded
jails. I spent nearly every day with all those new clients.
Chall: Did you win any other cases?
Sankary: I don't remember. Some you win; some you lose. But that was
such an incredible situation. I don't know anyone in the United
States who had that experience. I remember saying to myself,
"If those guys would just grab me as a hostage, they'd all go
free" because if you're a pregnant woman, the jailer would let them
go to save you. I really feared that. Every time I went in there
I looked at those guys, thinking of grabbing me and saying, "Okay
jailer, let us out." They surprisingly didn't, but I was just
helpless.
Chall: So you think women can be just as strong as men?
Sankary: Oh, I do, I do.
The Conflict Between Home and Career
Chall: I take it that you had a conflict between parenthood and your
profession. That was one of the problems at the time.
Sankary: Yes, it was.
Chall: Do you think that women do face that conflict and that it's
something that's unavoidable?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: Have you noticed in the last few years that some women don't
accept this conflict — That they find ways of having their children
taken care of and they just assume that they're going to have a
profession. It doesn't bother them — they are parents and do take
good care of their children.
Sankary: Right. The only way I interpret that is that some women really are
not crazy about having children, or about their children because I
know of women who are not even working who just don't seem to spend
any time or have any interest in their children at all. I went
overboard. I went to the other extreme with my children.
88
Chall:
Sankary ;
Chall: Do you think it's possible to combine a career and parenthood
without the conflict?
Sankary: Only to women who are less interested in children — and I don't
hold it against them. They just have other interests. I was
thirty-five before I had the first and only child and then I adopted
the second. So they just meant more to me than they do to other
women. It was harder for me.
Chall: Are you in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment?
Sankary: Yes. Of course.
Chall: What about your career after you came out of the legislature?
Sankary: I might add that I never tried not to have children — I just never
had the opportunity to have a child. I really wanted the babies.
For that reason I probably went overboard and I was willing to
give up my career for it.
To what extent did you give up your career? I think you told me
that by the time your children were in kindergarten you did go back
to law practice part time.
Yes, but I never reviewed the law and I had lost so much background.
The laws, of course, changed every year and I didn't keep up with
them at all. When I returned to the practice I never felt that I
was really a competent attorney in any field except personal injury.
Being a perfectionist, I wanted to be perfectly sure before doing
some client's case, that it had the most competent handling it
could get. I sort of specialized in personal injury and insurance,
because I had done so much of that work before I became a lawyer
that I knew that field well. In the other areas of law I felt a
little insecure. So I did the business management in the office —
keeping track of the business accounts, interviewing and taking
histories on new clients, and preparing the cases' backgrounds.
But my husband continued to carry the full responsibility.
Chall: As your children grew older did you gradually take on more of
that? Lid you devote more time to it?
Sankary: But I never was more into relearning the law or reviewing it. Our
business just increased enough so that I was kept very, very busy
without actually going into trial.
Chall: It could be an eight-hour day eventually rather than just three or
four as it was then? You took on more? More time?
Sankary: Oh, yes, it was. It took more time. I do think that politics
(and to some extent law practice) is such a stress on sensitive
people. It often destroys their health — their lives. It can
destroy one.
89
Politics and Democracy
Chall: What's the alternative if we're going to have a democratic
government?
Sankary: I think we need a lot of good new regulations like Common Cause
proposes. The control of the lobbyists and exposure of what
legislators get, or how the legislators increase their own finan
cial situation while in office — all that kind of reform.
Chall: So that the pressures, the financial pressures are taken off —
Sankary: Even those who tend to be dishonest legislators would be better
controlled. They wouldn't get away with it. There should be a
limitation, I think, on the terms of office.
Chall: Oh, you do feel that?
Sankary: Yes, so there isn't that kind of power, because I know Senator
Kraft had been there so long that he had too great — not always all
for the good.
Chall: Have you ever thought of what the term of office might be, the
length of the term?
Sankary: Maybe three terms for the assembly.
Chall: The senate has four years.
Sankary: Yes, they shouldn't have more than two terms because that's eight
years. Eight or ten years would be plenty.
Chall: It takes a long time to get acquainted with just the way the
legislature works, so after that you can really be effective for
the next number of terms.
Sankary: It is a mistake to remove someone who has just gotten started
before they become effective.
The Devastating Reelection Campaign, 1956
Chall: Do you want to talk about that last campaign in which you were
removed? I think we've covered everything else pretty well but
not that reelection campaign.
90
Sankary: No, I really don't but I will. When Mr. Crawford decided to run
he got some powerful guns behind him including Pat Brown who
campaigned for Mr. Crawford against an incumbent Democrat. There
was some deal made there which I never found out. But when Mr.
Crawford was in the assembly I understand he was very unpopular
and wasn't too well accepted. But he and Brown still had some
deal going because Mr. Brown appointed him to the judgeship out
of the assembly. So he wasn't there long. It was just a stepping
stone to the judgeship — this may have been his arrangement.
Chall: But Brown was attorney general at that time.
Sankary: But then he became governor.
Chall: Yes. He appointed him after '58 then?
Sankary: Along with the money that was poured into this one campaign, most
of the town being conservative and all of the judges — just about
all of them — were Republican appointees by previous administrations.
There was a lot of crud — everything was directed at me. The
newspapers, the big wheels, the big names.
For instance, somehow Mr. Crawford got the advertisement of
one of the important blacks, Archie Moore. I had espoused the
black cause very strongly. They were in my district. The entire
black community was in the 79th district. So I felt respected
by them and Bebe Banks was a black I had put on the central com
mittee and I was very close to the blacks. I don't know whether it
was money or what. I understood that a lot of money was handed
out down there. Also they got a prominent name like Archie Moore,
the boxer who was then the pride of the black community, a very
prominent San Diegan black. When he went on television, on paid
commercials against me, it was devastating to have a popular black
boxer that everyone was looking up to, appear against me.
After 1 started campaigning when I, and even my husband, was
practicing law, the judges became so antagonistic merely on party
lines, that I still remember the name of this one judge — Judge
William Glen that was ruthless. Another one was Joe Shell. Those
two I particularly remember taking very open roles against me, and
not only in the campaign but in our cases against innocent clients.
They were ruthless, and in my opinion unfit judges, being idealistic
as I am.
In this one divorce case, I represented the defendant. Of
course it's common knowledge that in every trial both sides get to
talk, but in this case the judge ruled for the plaintiff after the
plaintiff's case was presented and I never got to present my case
at all. The defendant and I never got to talk at all! In addition,
he went to the chief of the judges, Judge Bonsell Noon,
90a
in
Appointment Of Crawford
By OLIVER KING
Oov. Edmund G. -Brown'* two
recent court appointments
shocked San Diego Democrats
and surprised Republicans.
" Democrats are openly cri
ticizing Republican Assembly
man George Crawford's, ap
pointment to the Municipal
Court and also Magistrate Ron
ald Abernathy's promotion to
the Superior Court. '
The term, "payola" has been
applied to the "governor's action
in rewarding Crawford for the
assemblyman's cooperation dur
ing the past legislative session,
Republicans,' on the other
hand, were counting on Craw-
fond to continue as assembly
man from the; 79th District
Abernathy, a Democrat, dur
ing a recent Bar Assn. plebis
cite, polled the greatest number
of votes for a Superior Court
post, but had not been endorsed
by Democrats.
Back Candidate*
Loyal Democrats who had
backed the governor in all of
his proposals had been pressing
for either La Jolla attorney
Sherwood Roberts or Byron
Lindsley to* fill the Superior
Court vacancy.
Roberts, an active Democrat,
is finance chairman of the coun
ty central committee. Ldndsley,
an attorney, is a former chair
man of the central committee.
Democrats are also searching
lor answers to the reason why
Brown appointed Crawford. The
jovemor, on his first trip to
San Diego last cummer, follow
ing the past legislative session.
told newsmen that he had ap
preciated Crawford'* coopera.
tion'in Sacramento. .
At that time, the question
was asked whether the gover
nor would appoint the assem
blyman to a municipal .court
post and Brown indicated that
he was considering it.
No Surprise
Brown's action, in effect, was
not surprising to the astute
politico, but Democrats' were
counting on a straight partisan
policy toward appointments;'
It appears that Republicans
also had similar notions.
Jim Hervey, local chairman
of the GOP central committee,
reported last week that no
strong candidates had been
contemplated to succeed Craw
ford. • . '; ; :
Democrats, however, are con
tributing, at least two candi
dates to the primary election —
Jim Mills, curator at Serra Mu
seum and Leroy Seckler, an at
torney.
By shifting Crawford to the
court post. Brown has' also cre
ated a minor problem for elec
tion officials.
Special Election
The State Constitution re
quires that following an assem
bly vacancy, the governor must
call a' special election after M
days, which would be around
primary election' time.
If he does not sign a special
election proclamation, the elec
tion may -be automatic. The
problem may be solved by run
ning the election concurrent
with the primary election.
Thus, any person running in
the 79th District will be a spe
cial election candidate.
Brown's bi-partisan attitude,
which Democrats thought had
ended1 following his election to
the governorship, has somehow
become prevalent again.
It was widely known that the
governor, as attorney general,
had supported, and 'in turn been
supported by, Republicans. The
governor numbers among his
many close acquaintances some
of the top GOP leaden an Cal
ifornia. '
Independent, no date
HOME ADDRESS
1500 STUART STREET
BERKELEY 3, CALIFORNIA
SACRAMENTO ADDRESS
STATE CAPITOL
ZONE 14
COMMITTEES
Civil Service and
State Personnel
Government Organization
Municipal end County
Government
Public Health
Transportation and
Commerce
WILLIAM BYRON RUMFORD
MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY, SEVENTEENTH DISTRICT
CHAIRMAN
COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH
April 30, 1956
Hon. Wanda SanKary
5311 Pirotte Drive
Sf.n Diego 5, California
Dear Wanda,
Herewith, I am enclosing the copy of the letter
which I mailed to Mr. Young, of your City, in April
of last year.
The contents of this letter explain my position
with reference to you and your worK in the Legislature
I believe, as written, it will be more effective
for whatever uses you should like to make of it.
With my very best wishes.
Sincerely
'.YILLIAH BYRON RUKPQRD
wbr:hh
1 encl.
90c
April 29. 1955
Mr* N. II. Young,
Editor and Publisher
San Diego Lighthouse
2652-5U Imperial Avenue
San Diego, California
Dear Mr. Young t
From time to time I have had the occasion to read your
periodical with a great deal of interest and •nthusiasm.
I congratulate you on taking a forward stand en those
problems in which we as a group are vitally concerned.
In reading your recent issue of the San Diego Lighthouse,
Friday, April 22, X note on the editorial page under the
title, "The F.E.P.C. Is Out of Committee," you take to
task Assemblywoman Wanda Sankary, in which you say in the
editorial in correspondence with you that "She has never
said a word about the F.E.P.C." I would like to take this
opportunity to inform you that Mrs. Sankary not only Is a
co-author of this bill, as you will note on the enclosed
printed copy, but that she has also been most cooperative,
and has voted consistently with measures which are designed
to better race relations in our State. I believe that you
will also find that she voted for Mr. Hawkins' bill on
discrimination in automobile insurance. She has certainly
been an asset to the State Assembly, and we are proud to
have Mrs. Sankary as a member of this legislative body.
As a freshman Assemblywoman she has already shown much
ability, and we predict a brilliant future for her in State
Government*
I thought you might be interested in our feeling toward
Mrs. Sankary in view of the editorial which appeared in
your paper.
Thank you again for your support of ay measures, and I shall
leek forward to seeing you at any time you are in Sacramento
•r I am in your vicinity.
Sincerely,
W. BYRCN RUMFCRD
WBRivn
90d
DO YOU CARE ABOUT F. E. P. €.?
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT PRAISES
WANDA SANKARY
WANDA SANKARY is the ONLY member from Son Diego County who voted
in favor of F.E.P.C.
WANDA SANKARY is co-author of a Resolution to enforce de-segregation de
cision of Supreme Court
Wanda Sankary's rote is identical to that of
of her predecessor Katheryn Niehouse. Call
Mrs. Niehouse to learn the truth.
Wanda's Republican opponent will NOT sup
port F.E.P.C. Here Is an affidavit by a Certi
fied Public Accountant to prove it
Mrs. Niehouse (Republican) does not support
Wanda's opponent. George Crawford (Repub
lican), because his dishonest campaign tactics
disqualify him for this office.
SUPPORT WANDA SANKARY AS SHE
SUPPORTED YOUI
•
"ONE GOOD TERM DESERVES ANOTHER"
X. VUUtf P. MTU. MU« «nU ••••*, «S*eM •—
1*»t 1 M • c.r.i. teeUi^ at JMT »— (WMt i*
F Cl.t, 0*or». Cmf«r4 U14 M eM *U»M •! •>
welt UMt M «• «e»«*M t» F.I.f.C.
90e
^ If* jHunirtpal (!}mtrt
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
EUGENE DANEY. JR. .JUDGE
June 20, 1956.
L'.rs. Wanda Sankary.
Attorney-at-Law,
312 Bank Of America Bldg.,
San Diego, Calif.
Dear Mrs. Sankary:
I have your letter of the 16th inst.
to which 1 hasten to reply. I was shocked to learn
from your letter of the vicious and unwarranted attacks
made upon you at a recent political meeting.
I am pleased to state that as far as
Department 2 of the Municipal Court of San Diego Judi
cial District over which I preside, there is not now
and never has been any disciplinary action pending
against you. I am also able to state that no such action
is pending before the local Bar Association.
I have the highest regard for your
ability and integrity as a member of the Bar of San
Diego, and I personally resent anyone using my name
as vouching for his character and veracity when making
such unwarranted and unfounded accusations and attacks.
With cordial best wishes, I
am,
Very
"fartM^&ite
-JPgEHE DAKEY JP.-
Judge of the1 i-unicipal Court
90f
_______ _ 90g
i" The Independent Tries v
v-t To Set The Record Straight
• V * We are in receipt of a letter from Mrs. Wanda
Sankary which indicates some errors in our editorial of .
Oct. 11, 1956, and we are happy to print her comments
as contained therein: •--•.,-? I,.-1 , .-•'> '•- -.-•?=•. N • •- • ....
:• . > ^'Gentlemen: - " ^.•'.••'~ -"AvV ,-'!-.V •£•> •'•• •''.' ;!
"I have been Informed that you would print this
letter unedited in answer to your editorial of Thursday,
Oct. 11, 1956. ; > >
"Although I have continually asked for the num
bers of the bills that you had reference to in your edi
torial, no numbers have been furnished -to me to date, .
by you npr my opponent. ' '• .. .'.
"The following pages of the official State Assembly
Journal contradict your editorial: ' 'A ' • 'r '''•'' '• '
'Tage 4447, A.B. 2529: 'I did vote FOR an exten-
«on of veterans educational, loan and tax benefits to
veterans of the Korean War. , •;. .
. 'Tage 2616, A.B. 1783: page 5919, S.B. 398 and
page 4296, A.B. 8056;. I did vote FOR an increase in
old age assistance to conform with the increases allowed
by the Federal Government.
"Pages 4933 and 4934, A.B. 183: I did vote FOR
the bill which would prohibit the sale of horror comic
books to children under the age of 18. It was through
my efforts in fighting for this, bill that it passed both
the Assembly and' the Senate only to be vetoed by the
Governor. The only group opposed to this legislation
were the newspapers. " ,.'/-. . . . *
; "Page 6857, A.B. 1546: J did vote FOR the bill
' to 'appropriate money for state sponsored' scholarships '
for children. ' ••;''" . ••• .-..-
"Page 4191, A.B. 1919 and page 4701, S.B. 1268:
I did vote FOR extension of social security benefits
.to public employes. \ . •• •> '.."»'
• ;-t \VPage 2461, A.B. 37 .and page 8864,^ A.B. 837:
I did vote, to improve the standards of the apprentice
.
. 'Tage 4842, A.TB. 833: I did vote FOR increased
. payments to the blind from $85 per month -to $97.60
per month, and all other major legislation affecting
the blind and •veedy/\v>: '.-; W«iv-s •>;;' -i'. .... -j^'.^'- ^ •-*••*•• •
* - "Tage 3433, A3. 8782: J did vote" FOR".ihe San.
.Diego small craft .harbor bill. •.-: . -' ?•--.••; •> . . '. ; «. ,:
"Pages 5816 and 6838: T did vote on Senate XJoti--'
stitutional Amendment 2, which incidentally had tto-
thhig to do with William G. Bonelli as indicated in your'
article. My vote along with the other legislators from
San Diego is recorded on the above pages. It provides
that meals need not be served in bars. '
i "I voted in favor of all .major educational 'bills.
T I have received a letter of commendation from the Cali
fornia Teachers Association, dated May 3, 1956, prais
ing me for my support and vote on all major .educa
tional legislation. .'. -^ • •£ . •'- • ••"'
*|I voted ifr favor "of every major-bill protecting
« rights' of women and children. '•'..-• - -.;. :
. . "Regarding SaUt Polio vaccine: XB. 8800 did iiot
com* before the Assembly floor and was* not voted on
by any legislator. When S.B. 1988 came before tte.
Assembly I was before a Senate committee. . ..•' , -•"-- ;. '
/ '1 did .Vote FOR water measures effecting San
Diego. I oi>-authored A.B. 8165 which appropriated
money to Study a Toute of the Feather River Project
to San Diego. In addition it was through my efforts
as the author of AJ.R. 40 which provided that Con
gress establish a sea water conversion plant in San
Diego, that San Diego was able to obtain a sea water
conversion plant, although every other coast city in
California wanted the plant. ';'•; •"•• "V, ; . .>"';'•
"I. spent many hours before various committees,
both in the Senate and before the administrative agen
cies, to fight for the passage of bills affecting San
Diego, including the sea water conversion plant, better
highways, four additional courts, a new state building'
and many others. y - "•.-•-..
"It was only by virtue of the respect and considera
tion given me by the Senators and Assemblymen of
Cailornia, and through my own conscientious efforts,
that these bills were able to be passed by the legislature.*
, "I therefore respectfully demand that you retract
the, statements made in your editorial. ; . .. - ,C / •
. < . - .. •" "Very truly yours, ~ y-'.V-'-
; •/ . ' Wanda Sankary . '/ - ;' ; '
±. • »: Assemblywoman — 79th DisWct"
i "We do not intend by publishing this letter to give
the impression that we agree with everything Mrs.
Sankary's letter contains. We are doing so in an effort
to be fair. • • - . •' - -i-- . • •- - ;.',- ':•
Editorial, Independent
November 1, ]956
91
Sankary: and he seemed to attempt to disbar me with a story which was totally
false. He said that I had misrepresented in an affidavit to him in
this particular case, and he went on at great length. Judge Noon was
just a decent, honest enough person to come to tell me. I convinced
him it wasn't true at all — that it was a total falsehood.
Then there was a lot of stupid little suits, just harrassment
suits, like the one about my campaign literature littering some
place — just all kinds of annoyances. They actually sent their
campaign workers into my garage and plastered campaign literature
and vicious things inside my car. They harrassed me every place I
went. When I'd get up to make speeches, somehow the microphone would
go off. It was really dirty and frustrating!
But I want to say one thing that comes to my mind that isn't
really on this campaign. I was doing such a good job in that
assembly and I had so many nice letters come in too, that I felt
confident and I wasn't worried. In fact, a very great honor came
to me I thought. [Laughs] The Republicans asked me — they sent a
delegation and asked me — to change my affiliation and become a
Republican before they would let Crawford run. They wanted me to
become a Republican and then they wouldn't have a new candidate.
There was an annual big dinner here. It's called a Lincoln
Day dinner that they celebrate. There was a Senator Jenner, a very
prominent U.S. senator as the main speaker and he was a real right
winger. I just couldn't agree with anything he said, but I was
sitting next to him at the head table! I was the only Democrat
and they put me at the head table and fawned over me in introducing
me. They thought that I would become a Republican.
I refused to change my affiliation — partly because I couldn't
stand him and some of the party policies, and he was such a dema
gogue. Really, I knew that I couldn't respect myself or live with
myself to pretend or pass myself off as something I'm not. Even
though I would have voted as I had voted before I don't think I
would have had to change my vote, only my registration so that they
wouldn't have to oppose me in the election. But when I refused
them, Crawford became their candidate. Had I selfishly thought of
what's good for Wanda and my future ambition, I would have switched,
perhaps.
Chall: Why did Kathryn Niehouse run again do you think?
Sankary: She didn't like Crawford. She knew he was a rotten skunk so she
really wanted it. She was very ill and not young. The Republicans
that were sick of that candidate I think talked her into it. There
was a faction.
Chall: It was her faction that probably wanted you to change your registra
tion?
91a
April 9, 1957
Kr. Leonard Fowe
Dept. of FolKic.il Science
University of California
Berkeley U, Calif.
De ir
I erclo3C a folder of rv'urr d '.uesti'r^aircs wh'ch I sr^nt
out it the ro *u -st of the "Fair Cam-aip'n Practices Co-n ttee. Inc"
of f'o- York. • ould you be s- kino as to have a Der.ocrat looV th?se
over and /rive us a tabulation which w can send tc the
I think it is significant (1) that o-.ly J3 out cf 125 Denso-
ciVilic ncnirees polled both .red to answer tli^ i\uost'ormaire
(tabulate specifically As <r.bly, State Son-'tte. and Cor^ress). I
would us-'Uirc that if they wer\i all he=itod up they would hire ta en
th's opportur.lty to express ther^elves; (2) that a significant
rur.ber (please tabulate) hau no coi:£»3nt3 tc make: (3) that _
(a»xi here 1 see no reason to separate \rr offices) ccir.plaired of
decep'.ion it1 the "Denncrats for _ " type of advert! sirg;
(/,) ;>ick -lich.rds and v.arida Sankary seeccd tn hnv* been ibcut the
crly cnes falsely si^oarad. I think those two ana possibly ethers
should be treated individually.
Th«:« is ro g;«at hurry about this job. It looks reasr-ably
irterertir.£ arid I liive corr.a to rely on you for tv.ie kind of
intellectual job. Here at least you won't hive to eo search the
library. Be sure ar.d return the ir/it rials eubuHted by Preston F.
«vjlen EC that we c :n r turn it to him.
Kany thanks in advance.
Sincerely yours,
Ho?er Kent
Democratic State Central Committee
of California
212 SUTTER STREET • SAN FRANCISCO
Telephone DOuglas 2-7020
tOOEl ItES'T
OOlDlf KrNNCOT
W«<n«fl't CKaimitM
QUESTIONNAIRE
Northern Division:
LIONEL STEINBERG
;
PAULINE ROWLAND 1 . \
Wofr-en's Cr««ifm««i I R|
DAVID FREIDENRIO Name J
* \ :
^A^ / v J - 1
tL
Secretary
MARTIN HUfF
TfWtvref Add T6 S S
u
Soufttefn Division:
WILLIAM ROSENTHAi. p,-*..
CKjirman O i V J
KUDD BROWN
Won>«r's O.«i>m4^ .
THOMAS cARVEr Democratic
Candidate for J \ \ j /\v V>A ^ ^
TOM C. CA»REl.
1. Were any smear tactics used against you in your campaign0 If so,
specify
^.<^K-s<s~+- / ^Qt> ^ttst*-**-'-'
t 9' ^Lt'' >•' '' -I C~tc
I '.
/ I
-V '." LX-^ !•/•«-> '
^2,
r
,/
/
x^. , •> ,-•>-<:' r- i^> •A-'-*". <
<•
^-'
^'
,
2. Were any other unfair tactics used against you0 If so specify.
(Be sure to advise whether or.rct your opponent "had mailings or
ads showing "Democratic Committee for __ ^ ")
^>
/ Cc/-
/
^V ^,
•
^ Return tof Roger Kent, 212 Sutter, San Francisco
-f
V
/"
C 1 :
91c
.-. ^
V
92
Sankary: It was her people who supported me.
Chall: Crawford attacked your voting record and claimed you were absent
an extraordinary amount of time.
Sankary: I don't think he made one true statement about anything he ever
said. But it was so hard to refute. The newspapers would give me
one tiny little line of denial some place in the back of the paper —
when he had gotten practically front page coverage with his charges.
So I never got a chance — it looked as if I were admitting all this.
Chall: He claimed that you failed to vote on an act enabling county authori
ties to undertake a Salk vaccine program in San Diego schools.
Sankary: I would never have voted against that!
Chall: A variety of things like that.
Sankary: Oh, it's just ridiculous.
Chall: This must have been a very hard campaign for you, not only because
it was vicious, but also because you didn't really want to go
back to the assembly.
Sankary: And 1 gave up. When I saw how it was going I absolutely refused to
go out and work anymore. I threw in the sponge. I didn't feel the
people, if they abandoned me, deserved me.
Chall: Did you have basically the same people working for you that you had
two years before?
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: They couldn't pull it all together?
Sankary: Except I don't recall Mr. Peterson. I think that everyone was
heartsick that I didn't get out and campaign.
Chall: Because that really would have helped.
Sankary: Yes.
Chall: What about your husband? He was taking apparently — not only what
was going on inside the garage and all the rest of it — that's pretty
hard to take — but the problems that accrued in the courts itself
because of the enmity toward you. Didn't he feel occasionally that
it might not really be worth it?
Sankary: I suppose he did. We felt also that — not today, $100,000 isn't a
lot of money — but in those days that is what we estimated it cost
us in hiring another attorney, and lost business, and a lot of other
problems, including our own expenses — that's what the experience
cost us.
92a
EDITION. .SAN DIEGO-LINDA VISTA
=EAR . . NO FAVOR
YOUR FAMILY HOME NEWSPAPER
5c Per Copy
I20,t)00
•Sunday ond Thursday
*OME DELIVER ED
ESTABLISHED 1926
IOADWAY, SAN DIEGO 2, CALIF.— BE 4-7321
THURSDAY, OCT. 11, 1956
an editorial
Political candidates are in the habit of saying-,
"Let's look at the record." Many of them would be
aghast — and jobless — if voters took the trouble to
check the record as they are so often advised to do.
But it's never a bad idea to look at the record.
The things that sometime turn up make interesting
reading.
The Independent looked at the record. So today
•we endorse the candidacy of George W. Crawford, who
seeks the 79th Assembly District seat presently held
by Wanda Sankary.
The record shows Mrs. Sankary failed to vote on
42 major educational bills placed before the legislature.
Does she think our children are not important
enough to warrant her protection in the Assembly?
Thousands of veterans who voted to send Mrs.
Sankary to Sacramento are not receiving full value for
their votes. The record shows she failed to vote on
extension of veterans' educational, loan and tax bene
fits to veterans of the Korean War.
She did not even vote to grant amputee and blind
veterans exemption from auto license fees.
She did not vote on four major welfare measures,
not even to increase old age assistance to conform with
increases allowed by the federal government.
She did not vote on the state law which prohibits
book distributors from forcing vendors to sell horror
comic books, a measure strongly backed by Parent-
Teacher Associations and other groups interested in
the welfare and mental health of children.
She did not vote to allow use of school facilities to
administer Salk anti-polio vaccine to children.
She did not vote to appropriate money for state-
sponsored scholarships to deserving children.
She did not vote to extend Social Security cover
age to public employes.
She did not vote to improve the standards of the
apprentice labor law.
She did not vote on an urgency measure to pro
vide funds for the blind.
She did not vote to develop small craft harbors
and waterways, a measure of great importance to San
Diegans.
She did not vote on six measures dealing with
Southern California's water problems, even though San
Diego County faces drought and possible water ration
ing next summer.
She did not vote for Senate Constitutional Amend
ment 2, which provided for formation of the new
Alcoholic Control Board and broke the sinister hold of
fugitive William G. Bonelli on California's liquor
industry.
Why?
Was Mrs. Sankary too busy with personal matters
to look out for the interests of those who elected her
to the Assembly?
What other reason can their be, that she failed
to vote on 468 bills put before the Assembly ?
George Crawford is a young attorney who, in his
own words, considers himself honor-bound to represent
the 60,000 persons in his district by studying each
measure and voting accordingly.
"Where the legislator shows up for roll call to
avoid being listed as absent, then fails to vote for a
single measure, it shows a deliberate intent to defraud
and deceive the voters," Crawford has said.
The Independent agrees. We urge the voters of the
79th District to elect George W. Crawford to the State
Assembly, not on the basis of party affiliation but on
the basis of his qualifications: Honesty, ability and
determination.
93
Chall: Did he ever discourage you from running?
Sankary: No, he tried to encourage me, tried to build me up and keep me
going, but I was really so upset I couldn't.
Chall: When you lost then you were ambivalent?
Sankary: Yes, I was relieved in one way and unhappy in another. And bitter,
[end tape 4, side B]
Clecte4 for fa fore .
This Year's Primary
Election Returns Were:
ASSEMBLY, 79TH DISTRICT
Rep. Dem.
Sankary (D) . 4,219 23,141
Crawford (R) -.1 1,349 4,034
Niehouse (R) 6,410 2,561
"EDITORIAL"
by Assemblywoman Wanda Sankary
Many of you are
._ probably con-
ccrned about the ac
cusations being made
against your Assem-
.'4 blywoman.
The concerted ef-
'3 fort to confuse you in
; your vote is due to
_ -.-,. •»• the fact that the sup-
[rtcrs of my opponent want a legislator
«om they can control. I took an oath
wen I was elected, that I would not be
cntrolled by. anyone or any group. I
tve kept faith with the people who
scted me. As your representative, I
ciscienMously voted for what is right
(• the people and not for powerful
r>ney?d interests. I gave myself, my
tic and energy to full time attendance
t duties in Sacramento, whatever the
crsona! sacrifice to myself and my fam-
]i This was because the only purpose
:'• my being there at all was to strive
:•• good government for ourselves and
:r children as my contribution to society.
Every despicable means, including ab-
»ute lies, whispering campaigns, and
CDcnditures of thousands of dollars is
::d in what appears to be a dcsparate
c-npaign to remove YOUR representa-
te vote in the government and replace
i'kvith a controlled, corrupt one. Do not
.; deceived!
During the .legislative session many
tjusands of bills are voted upon by each
iuslator. Occasionally, he must appear
bore' committee hearings and adminis-
t live agencies, such as the highway
CTi.rr.ission, which take him away from
t- assembly floor. It is impossible to be
i: two places at once and therefore it
^impossible to vote one every single bill
tiit reaches the floor of the Assembly.
I ring the entire legislative session I
^s absent only five days (two of these
v>re Saturdays), which constitutes less
a,ences. than average. Page 6350 of Vol.
3 of the Assembly Journal carried in
try public library substantiates my
sUement. T?ut my opposition would have
yt believe that I missed most of the
si;ion.
Contrary to the false statements that
li't appeared in the newspapers and
tl t have been made by my opponent, I
Oor.rinufd on Pagr 4, Col. 3
WANDA SANKARY ONLY WOMAN IN POLITICAL
HISTORY TO CAMPAIGN DURING PREGNANCY
Assemblywoman Wanda Sankary (Dem.-79fh
District) ii the only woman in American politics
who waged a political campaign while pregnant.
"It wasn't planned that way, it just happened/'
she said. The birth of her son and election
returns announcing her victory in 1954 occurred
simultaneously. Stories and pictures of the
Blessed Event were carried by Life Magazine
and other publication* throughout the United
Stares, as well as in Canada and Europe. Shown
above, Wanda Sankary and newborn son receive
congratulatory messages from all parts of the
nation. (Life Magazine photo.)
Wanda Sankary Adopts Philosophy of Abraham Lincoln
I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true*
^ I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live
up to the light I have.
i'
I must stand with anybody that stands right, stand
with him while he is right, and part with him when
he goes wrong.
— Abraham Lincoln
*
Assemblywoman Sankary says, "I adopted this philosophy long ago and I have always
followed it to the very best of my ability." ... - ^
93b
HIGHLIGHTS IN BIOGRAPHY OF
ASSEMBLYWOMAN WANDA SANKARY
Wanda Sankary, 36, was born in Scranton, N. D. Coming to San
Diego in 1932, she attended Woodrovv Wilson Jr. High School, Hoover
High School and San Diego State College. At the age of 22 she married
a childhood sweetheart, Allen Young, a pilot in 'the U. S. Navy. Six
months after their marriage he was killed overseas.
While attending S. C. Law School Wanda met her present husband,
Morris Sankary. They passed the bar
examinations together, after which Wan
da engaged in the practice of law in Los
Angeles while her husband was attorney
for the Atomic Energy Commission.
Later, Mr. Sankary was transferred to
San Diego as Assistant United States
Attorney in charge of the local office...
When Mr. Sankary resigned from the
U. S. Attorney's office in 1953, the
Sankarys opened joint law offices in the
Bank of America Building, San Diego.
Shortly after Wanda, in answer to many
requests, agreed to run for the State As
sembly in the 79th District, she found
she was expecting her first child. But
this did not deter her and she campaigned
despite her pregnancy. On November 3,
1954, when the results of the election
were coming in, Timothy Sankary was
born. At the same time, W'anda received
the news that she had won the election.
Shortly thereafter a new-born baby boy,
Ronald, was adopted. Now Tim and
Ronnie are being raised as twins.
Out of 120 members of the Legislature,
only three are women. Although a "fresh
man," she was appointed to serve on 5
committees. She is vice chairman of the
Social Welfare Committee and a member
cf the Finance and Insurance, Industrial
Relations, Transportation and Commerce,
Judiciary, and the Joint Senate Assembly
Committee On Highways. She is the
only San Diegan serving on the all-power
ful Judiciary Committee, and the only
woman ever to serve on it, due to the
fact that its members must be lawyers.
Assemblywoman Sankary authored the
two bills which created additional Court
of H»« (MTV pUeeai* and
phases of being in politics," says Ajiembly-
woman Sankary, "h meeting famous persons
and comparing experiences." She is shown
shaking hands with presidential candidate Adlai
Stevenson at a recent Democratic rally in San
Departments and two additional Muni
cipal Court Departments in San Diego.
She has been particularly interested and
active in fighting to protect the rights of
women, and children.
While Morrfs S**kary, Wand*'* lawyer-hus
band, was serving as U.S. Attorney in 1953, he
prosecuted an international ring of bird smug
glers.
One of the birds smuggled in was used as
evidence in court and was valued at $2000.
Mr. Sankary is Wanda's most enthusiastic
supporter. He encourages and inspires her
through every step of her campaign.
DEMOCRATS, DON'T BE MISLED!
George Crawford, Republican candi
date opposing Assemblywoman Wanda
Sankary, Democrat, has been trying to
pass himself off as a friend of the Demo
crats. But, DON'T BE FOOLED! Here's
what he REALLY thinks about your
Democratic vote. (Reprinted from the
San Diego Union, May 15, 1956).
George Crawford, candidate for the
GOP nomination in the 79th District,
said. Democrats are gaining power
while the Republicans "are losing the
balance of power" in the State.
As a result, .the State is "slipping
downhill to socialism, the first cousin
to communkm."
MAYOR COMMENDS
WANDA
June 8, 1955
Dear Wanda:
I am very pleased to hear that your resolu
tion regarding placement of a sea water con
version plant in San Diego passed the Assembly
and the Senate.
This resolution should add tremendous im
petus to the procurement of this plant. I con
sider this type of action on your part as far-
seeing in recognizing the problems of this
community; not only as regar^.-vilution of the
water problem, but a^^^ilSethaJ of focusing
national artention^^^nlj, ar>c
|^Cg32^(Charlie)
V^-^"^ Charles C. Dail
The Hon. Wanda Sankary, Assemblywoman
State of California, 79th District
State Capitol
Sacramento, California
GOV. KNIGHT SIGNS ON!
OF SANKARY'S BILLS
Governor Knight signs one of Assemblywoi '
Wanda Sankary's bills, making it a law.
California, 80 assemblymen make the laws
more than 13 million people. Only three
women. Assemblywoman Sankary's attenda «
record at the Stare Legislature has consiste 1
been one of the best since she was first elec i
WOMEN'S BILL (Civil Service)
A bill which would have given worn
second-class treatment in certain ci
service competitions was unanimously >
feated by the State Assembly's Judiciy
Committee.
"This would mean that even thon
a woman had rated higher on the exz :
ination than any of the men, she wo:
be relegated to the top of a list t
would be thrown in the wastebasket r
times out of ten," Mrs. Sankary stal .
"because of a traditional prejudice agai :
women in the employment field."
Before Mrs. Sankary, a member of fl
committee, made her presentation the •
mainder of the large judicial group
favored the bill. After her explanati
they reversed themselves and defeatec
unanimously.
OLD AGE BILL PASSED
One out of many notable achie
ments of Assemblywoman Sankary
winning her fight to pass a resolution •
lowing old age recipients to earn $5
month without losing any Old Age be
fits. This worthy resolution, authoi
and sponsored by Wanda Sankary, 'fj
adopted by the State Legislature anc>
now pending Federal Government '
proval to make it into mandatory la
| Graduation
VANDA SANKARY'S REAL
ATTENDANCE RECORD
Although her Republican opponent has
peatedly tried to smear her, Assembly-
oman Wanda Sankary's full time at-
ndance record and sincere devotion to
aty are attested to by all local Assembly-
en of BOTH parties! namely: Frank
ickel (Rep), Jack Schrade (Rep), and
teridan Hegland (Dem). These Assem-
/men served in the same legislative ses-
n as Wanda.
'f*Wanda Sankary's Republican opponent
s not even received the endorsements
these Republican Assemblymen nor has
(the endorsement of Senator Fred Kraft
r * jep) who also served in the same legis-
session!
, most significantly, Wanda San-
S? fry's Republican opponent has failed
ough every trick, deceit and pressure
t been used) to get Mrs. Katheryn Nie-
aise's endorsement and support.
iRS. NIEHOUSE was Wanda's pre-
''NrKsor and attempted in this year's
1 Binary campaign to regain her seat. She
(,,„,. Republican; Wanda is a Democrat.
mrih REFUSES TO ENDORSE REPUB-
»*.I:AN GEORGE CRAWFORD BE-
**;JSE OF HIS DISHONEST .CAM-
«GN TACTICS! ALSO BECAUSE
< t'NDA SANKARY'S VOTE IN THE
-f.MBLY CONTINUES EXACTLY
r- 1 : SAME TYPE OF REPRESENTA-
N AND VOTING THAT MRS.
HOUSE GAVE TO THE 79TH
J-RICT WHEN SHE WAS IN THE
It, ASSEMBLY!
ALTER HIGHWAY ROUTE — Nor at a
' < her d'jties, but only to comply with a
'*• from San Diego officials, Wanda San-
' Beared before the State Highway Com-
"o fa urge reviiion of th» route U.S. 101
:w would take through jhe Logan Heights
1 ire was another case where fhe Assem-
'°iin's opponent was guilty of fafse itafe-
'^'.laiming that Wanda Sankary refused to
thi* mitter before the Highway Com-
'•° Although other California papers car-
ju.[i(( * picture of Assemblywoman Sankary's
It* ;^2ad of forts in urging tho route revision,
io papers failed to do so.
The picture aboT» appeared in THE LADIES'
HOME JOURNAL, issue of April, 1956, in
connection with an article featuring Wanda
Sankary as one of six outstanding women in
the nation's legislatures. More than 300 women
Wanda Sankary authored a Resolution, rela
tive to the utilization of food surpluses to
supplement the food allowances and intake of
recipients of public assistance.
This year's report of the Department of
Health, Education and Welfare states that 12
million Americans are in need, and (his is
roughly broken down as follows:
5 million on welfare
nearly 3 million unemployed
nearly 3 million disabled veterans on
pensions or disability
compensation
Also, that a high percentage of men called for
induction in World War II were rejected be
cause of malnutrition (this is 14% of 40% re
jected). At the same time the Department of
Agriculture reported that, as of Decf»ber 31,
were interviewed by THE LADIES' HOME JOUR
NAL, and San Diego can be proud of fhe fact
that Wanda (Dem. -7 9th District), devoted moth
er and housewife, was one of the women chosen.
She is shown with Tim, one of her two sons.
1955, the stocks on hand of surplus" food
valued at $6,082,000,000 had accumulated in
government warehouses by the Federal govern
ment under the Farm Parity Program. The
storage expense to the government is tre
mendous.
It is better that these surpluses should be
used to raise the living standards of the most
needy segments of the American people rather
than have surplus foods accumulate and rot
in warehouses or be sent abroad.
THIS PASSED ASSEMBLY WITHOUT A
DISSENTING VOTEr It was then killed in
a Senate committee when farming interests
raised the objection that prices would be re
duced by putting government-held surpluses on
the market.
Baserves Another
This Poper Printed by Sonkory Campaign Committee ^--U .^ -•
ABOLISH CRIME COMIC BOOKS
"I do not see how anyone in good con
science could vote against a bill which
has the slightest possibility of correcting
an outrageous situation," said Assembly
woman Wanda Sankary, in referring to
the anti-crime comic books bill which she
helped to fight through the Assembly and
the "Senate Committees. "Any effort
which will tend to halt the depravation
of young minds and curb the rise of ju
venile delinquency is deserving of sup
port," stated the Assemblywoman.
This anti-crime comic books bill re
ceived the support of all organizations
and persons who abhor the use of viol
ence, horror, or sex in comic books for
children— EXCEPT THE NEWSPAPER
LOBBY. This lobby, which was the
ONLY opposition to the bill, argued that
it would be the beginning of press cen
sorship. But newspaper comics were
specifically excluded from the bill! So
the argument was transparent and falla
cious.
The bill passed both houses, sailing
through the Senate with only two votes
against it. only to be vetoed by the Gov
ernor. At the same time, a similar bill
was signed by the Governor of the great
state of New York.
This is an example of what a devoutly
sincere legislator does who holds the in
terests and the welfare of her people at
heart.
93d
ASSEMBLYWOMAN WANDA SANKARY and
Eleanor Roosevelt exchange friendly greetings
and compjre notes at a recent meeting in San
Diego.
ei, ,--— ~. .. j Cent* <••».•
fnfn M Ce'l-nglsn. Tffatut»r
312 6-.'. et A-e-ci bkog .
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Bulk Rate
U. S. Postage
PAID
San Diego, Calif.
Permit No. 337
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THE SANKARY FAMILY AT HOME— Uft t»
right. Attorney Morris Sankary, Tim, Ronnie
and Assemblywoman Wanda Sankary. Says
Wanda, "My husband holds the unique position
among the 13 million Catifornians of being the
only man with a wife in the State Legislature.
He should get a medal or something." Mr. jr
Mrs. Sankary share law offices in the Bank i
America Building, San Diego. They reside wil
their two sons at 4919 Cresita Drive in th
College area.
EDITORS NOT
INTERESTED IN FACTS
An editorial was printed in the IN
DEPENDENT Oct. 11 purporting to
show the voting record of Assembly
woman Wanda Sankary, but it was a
collec,tion of absolute lies, half truths
and distortions. Just before its print
ing, Wanda, accompanied by Coro-
nado Journal Publisher G. K. Williams,
called on the Independent to show to
the editor and publisher the Assembly
Journal. The editor did not look at
the voting record and did not mention
that his newspaper was about to run
an editorial almost completely opposed
to the true facts. After it appeared on
the streets saying, "The Independent
looked at the record," the publisher
and editor both admitted to attorneys
that neither of them had looked at the
record but had merely taken her oppo
sition's word for it!
On the same day, Mrs. Sankary and
Williams called on the publishers of
the Union-Tribune to show them the
voting record in the Assembly Journal.
They would not look at the record
cither.
A day before, Mrs. Sankary and
Williams called on Mr. Ben Decker,
former Vice Admiral and Republican
county committreman, who -had said
Mrs. Sankary failed to vote on 682
bills. Decker admitted to Mrs. Sankary
and Williams that he^fcTVOT VERI
FIED his facts.^at tjx information
was given to^^m^M^someone but he
•wouldn't veyQt;^?'
No or| serxfed to be interested in
looking aSiifie facts. They just wanted
to attack Mrs. Sankary, with or with
out veracity.
EDITORIAL
Continued from Page 1
VOTED IN FAVOR OF Korean Wa
Veterans Benefits, Increased benefits t
the Aged and the Blind, Apprentice labc
law legislation, the San Diego Harbc
Bill, Social Security Benefits for publi
employees, educational grants to desen
ing children, tenure, and all major educz
tional bills, the bill to prevent the sal
of horror comic books to children, watt
legislation to bring water to San Diego b
aqueduct from Northern California (
co-authored one major bill on the Featht
River project), narcotics legislation an
Highways. I consistantly voted again,
any increase in taxes. These votes ca
be found on the following pages of t
Official State Assembly journal page
4447, 2616, 4296, 2461, 3864, 4842, 343
4191, 5701, 5031, 4933, 4934.
Groups that have endorsed me ar
THE OLD AGE ASSOCIATION:
THE AFL-CIO, THE CALIFORNI
GROCERS ASSOCIATION, TH
CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE ASSC
CIATION, THE RAILROAD BROTr
ERHOODS, THE INTERNATIONA
MACHINISTS UNION, and mar
others.
Don't be confused! Don't be deceive*
I am not an unknown quantity. Yf
need not rely on campaign talk. You (
have a voting record by which I may 1
judged, as compared to mere . campait
talk of my opponent. If he is dishone
in this campaign to attain a position
trust where honesty is of. paramount ir
portance, he has disqualified himself fi
that position. I feel I am qualified I
experience, as well as education ar
oroven honestv. .-:..
, ™ ^ 93e
^ « California Teacners Association
• » 3 SUTTEt STIEET • SAN FIANCISCO 2 • PIOSPECT * - 4 1 1 0
May 3. 1956
The Honorable Wanda Sankary
Member of Assembly - 79th District
312 Bank of America Building
San Diego 1, California
Dear Mrs. Sankary:
In reviewing the records of the 1955 and 1956
sessions of the State Legislature I was pleased to.
note the generous support which you as a member of
the Assembly gave to bil^s designed to further the
cause of education in California. Your efforts have
played an important part in providing better facili
ties for the children and a more attractive profession
for the teachers.
For your friendly attitude, your intelligent con
sideration and your willingness to meet the urgent
problems of the public schools, the teaching profession
is grateful.
Please accept this as an expression of the appre
ciation of the California Teachers Association and its
85,000 ineiribers for all you have done.
Cordially yours,
Arthur F. Corey
State Executive Secretary
AFC : es
93f
AFFILIATED WITH CALIFORNIA STATE FEDERATION or LABOR, SAN DIEGO COUNTY FEDERATED
TRADES & LABOR COUNCIL. FEDERATED Fine FIGHTERS or CALIFORNIA.' INTERNATIONAL ASB'N
or FIRE FIGHTER*, CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF CIVIL SERVICE ASS'N»
San Diego Fire Fighters Association
Local Number 145
ORGANIZED AU6U*T !», l»t»
SAN DIEGO. CALIFORNIA
May 16, 1956
Hon. Wanda Saiikary
Statb Assemblywoman
^919 Cresita Dr.
San Die^o 15, Calif.
Dear Kadam,
As Secretary of the San Die^o Fire Fighters Association
I vould. like to ts.ke this opportunity to tell you that the
centers of thic or-snisation are very appreciative of your
efforts in our "behalf . We feel th?t you are in sympathy with
o-.ir pro^rem for the I-etterncnt of the Fire Fighters1 position
in Cclifornic..
our "by-laws prevents us fron endorsing any candi
date for public office, officially, ve can and do endcrce yoii
£.2 a friend.
A^^r. T thank you for your kind consideration in the past
and wish to extend the best of luck to you.
S incsrely yoiJ^s »
B. I. Rogers, Sec.
93g
In recognition of the good you have done W ;
tetwiu /fff, ^%0b%kfa^jkr/4S'4
fo'ifZf**1,? ^ b^&Jy&tX.bK!
J hQnft'U '(jrarns are free . . . jutt a* all the inf thtn$t t-. life art. 5f# rt* revettf ttdt ol ri.s mtsxQ**.
THZ S3D FOR
"
Re-elect
MEMSEJt Of
ASSEMBLY
As£=e:r;blv-/oinar. Sankary is 33,
mother of 2 boys (one born on last
elsc'ion da 7). She is an attorney at
lav, ssr/ing her first isr^. in the
Asssnibly, or, active, aggressive
msmbsr of six pov/enui committees
p?us tv/o sub-committees studying
juvenile delinquency and youth
employment.
•X
Picuit these zinnias novr arid fcoir
blocni in Novernbyr will remind
y^u to vote ioi Yv'unda again.
i
This packet of seeds was returned
! to Mrs. Sankay with the following message
; printed all over it: These seeds grew up
' to be weeds. You can have your dirty seeds.
You crook. Don't re-elect.
94
IV ADDITIONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EXPERIENCES IN THE LEGISLATURE:
ISSUES AND BILLS
[begin tape 5, side A]
[The following was read into a tape recorder by Mrs.
Sankary as she went through material she had saved from her
campaigns and her term in the legislature and tried to recall the
significant issues, persons, and events. During editing some of
the topics discussed were rearranged for continuity.]
Insurance
Sankary: There was one little fight I had with the insurance commissioner
who was then — let's see, his name was F. Burton McConnell, insurance
commissioner for the state of California, and the issue that I was
trying to establish without having actually presented the bill, was
that insurance companies frequently cancel or refuse to renew a
policy after the insured has filed a claim for an illness or an
injury that was not pre-existing at the time the policy was issued,
or any other claims, even on homeowner's policies. I think, had I
been there now, I would have made a much more vigorous fight about
that; and also about the fact that the insurance commissioner is
always — in California — chosen from the field, from the industry
itself, and therefore is not a true protection for the populace, not
an unbiased executive. There are only three states in the union,
I understand, that do not allow their insurance commissioner to be
connected with an insurance company in any way, but is chosen from
the people. This is a change we still don't have in our own state,
and there are therefore a lot of abuses by insurance companies.
Some of the insurance problems that came along had to do , for
example, with the training of new people in the industry so they
wouldn't be exploited by an insurance company merely to get all of
his contacts and a list of his immediate circle of friends and then
turn him out .
95
Welfare
Sankary: There was a welfare bill I submitted in the form of a resolution
asking that old age pensioners be permitted to earn up to fifty
dollars a month without impairing their pension and it had passed
the assembly. I got it also through the senate, and it became
law. Chapter 30 of the Joint Resolution. Several bills having to do
with eliminating the prosecution of relatives of recipients of aid
to the aged. I don't know whether it was enacted or not.
Too often you become immersed in matters at hand and don't
follow the resolution of the bills you had presented. After they
reach the senate we couldn't argue them there in their chamber,
anyway, so you had to let it go on its own merit. I suppose if
I had a bill of major importance and had been there a longer time I
would have established connections in the senate to follow through
on my bill and try to make deals there and with the governor for
their passage into law.
This is why it is important to vote in good people and keep
them there long enough to be effective. As a first termer, I felt
so impotent and even frustrated, and, later, bitter at my consti
tuents for not backing me up for the second term, after I had
worked so diligently.
Another bill that I introduced in the form of a resolution,
Assembly Joint Resolution Number 14, which died in the senate, was
the food stamp plan to distribute certain surpluses of food
commodities to needy persons. Under this provision, the U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture would be authorized to use surplus food
and make it available to eligible needy persons by issuing stamps
through the Welfare Department. These resolutions, when it involves
federal law, have to be passed by both of our bodies and then by
the Congress to enact the legislation accordingly, but this one
didn't get through the state senate.
The Judiciary
Sankary: As I stated previously, I had a lot of trouble in San Diego, and my
husband did too, when we got into politics, with the judges in town
because they were all apparently of a conservative skin and so they
took it out on us and our clients and sometimes in a very unpleasant
way. This in spite of recognizing us both as being exceptionally
fine lawyers. In the law field we were highly regarded, especially
my husband's prowess. This also promotes jealousy. There was no
96
Sankary: support from judges, of course, in the campaign and they actually
worked behind the scenes for Republican candidates. But despite
this, during my stay in Sacramento, the greatest pressure I recall
from any particular group was from the judges in San Diego — either
to increase the number of judges so that they could work less hard,
or to increase their salaries, and there was just a continuous flow
of letters and pressures and visits, demanding these things. Being
a brand new attorney and too awed and impressed by a judge, which I
probably wouldn't be today, I always complied.
I can recall all kinds of bills for increasing their salaries
and increasing the numbers of judges, and I carried them through,
and it was done and accomplished. As I think about it now, it really
shouldn't have been. I think their salaries are too high and they
don't work hard enough. They have a very short day and a long
vacation, many of them. It's because they use this particular kind
of pressure on the legislators; yet, ironically, when it came to
my campaign for the second term, they were certainly not on my
side. In fact, they did some harm wherever they could and showed
very little appreciation I would say.
I have a letter dated March 2, 1955, which is a three-page long
letter from one of the judges, with a copy to my husband stating
that he expects me to carry these bills and vote correctly on all
these matters. I was angry about this because it indicated that
he thought Morrie would control my actions in the legislature, and
that if he didn't the judges might be hostile to him and me as
attorneys.
There were bills on additional deputies and help for the judges.
I keep running across more bills for judges and courts and their
employees and benefits in my files.
This occurred even after the very unusual experience that I had.
I was a new attorney and so I held judges in high respect which
opinion I no longer have. The particular experience was when I
first announced my candidacy. I was a Catholic and I asked the
Catholics for help but you can't always expect a man of God to have
any attributes of loyalty or generosity it seems. I didn't get help
because they were all conservatives, the church officials especially.
When I think of the money my parents donated to the Catholic cause!
There was a very prominent judge here by the name of Shell. His son
was also in the legislature. Of course, Judge Shell would not help
with any of my attempts in getting the support of the Catholic
organizations, although he was in a position to do so as an impor
tant Catholic.
And there was the judge that I especially resented — Eugene Glen—
when I was representing one of the parties in a divorce. He heard
nothing on the defendant's side and ruled for the plaintiff and in a
most penalizing manner and as I related before he didn't stop there.
97
Sankary: I had never been before this judge before. I had no connection with
him or any reason other than my campaign and his desire to harrass
me that I could see. Now, I understand that campaigns are campaigns.
But some of the things that happened to me I'll never forget and
this is one.
Speaking of pressures, we did thousands of requests from every
organization in the state and individuals; telegrams and letters by
the dozen, such as the various labor unions and locals, and the
insurance groups — agents and brokers — the California Teachers Asso
ciation, the Associated Architects and Engineers. Let's see, some
of the others are the retail credit associations, physical therapy
associations, tavern and restaurant people, food groups, Grocers
Association, et cetera, et cetera. Each with a particular position
for or against various bills, or simply urging some change in the
laws. I have retained in my files some of the letters of commenda
tion and thank you and appreciation that are unusually effusive in
their praise. These seem to me not to be the type of form letter
that went to other legislators generally. I felt appreciated and
gratified.
The Seawater Conversion Plant
Sankary: The Seawater Conversion Plant in San Diego is one that I am
particularly proud of which the Republicans never allowed me to get
credit for. [Laughs softly] It was Assembly Resolution Number 40
and it was a joint resolution that passed both houses and was filed
with the secretary of state and went to the Department of Interior
in Washington. It was the saline water conversion program to place
the seawater conversion plant in San Diego. This then went to the
president, and to the Congress, and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and the Department of Interior, and so forth.
Then when the 25,000-gallon-a-day pilot plant was erected in San
Diego the one who took special credit and publicity for the whole
thing was the Republican representative in Congress, Bob Wilson,
who made a big fat announcement about the $600,000 Congress had
been asked to appropriate, without there ever being any mention of
me having gotten the ball rolling at a very early time before the
other states and cities did.
I particularly remember one article in the San Diego Copely
papers, written by the political reporter here, who at the time that
I was carrying this seawater conversion bill, wrote a very nasty
piece about "some vote" coming up on the floor that I was absent
from (because I was in a committee hearing.) He made a big issue
that I wasn't there at the time they were voting on something
98
Sankary: without explaining that the committee meetings were going on
simultaneously, and that I had to be somewhere else. He did not
even explain what the bill was that I was working on. His words
were — and they are indelible in my mind — "the resolution, whatever
it was," was occupying Mrs. Sankary's time. Thus he dismissed
my activity on behalf of the seawater conversion plant as "whatever
it was."
Other Issues and Bills
Sankary: To go on with the miscellany of other legislation that I either
co-authored or supported with time and energy. I was always
interested in education and support for the schools and teachers.
I was dismayed that there was a split in the teachers organizations.
It distressed me that the two were not united on issues affecting
such an important segment of the community. I think I placed this
first in my mind and heart in importance to the state — the education
process. I vowed that I would ask to be on the education committee
in my next term in the legislature. It was the first solid, vital
interest that was sparked in me. I would have grasped it and
devoted most of my attention to it, prospectively.
There were pressures on me about meetings of certain agencies
still being held in secret. So I took up the question for dis
cussion, in the Social Welfare Committee. It says in the press
clipping, which I have, that I agreed that all state agency hearings
should be open to the public, and many of the Republicans were
pressuring for exposure of welfare cases to eliminate chiseling
which I opposed, because, as I went on to say, it might prevent
eligible persons from applying for aid. There were two sides to
that issue, i.e. whether records should be open to the public,
although in general I was in favor of opening all committee and
agency hearings to the press and to the public.
Secondly, there were all kinds of problems that would come up
before the State Highway Commission. I was a member of the Joint
Interim Committee on Transportation. I understood, no freshman had
ever been appointed previously to a joint interim committee. So I
traveled around the state with these joint committee members for
hearings on county roads and state system of highways. There
were a lot of representatives of those departments coming in with
problems for us to consider for the Department of Motor Vehicles
and the State Highway Patrol and the State Commission of Highways.
Similarly, problems arose on the use of the gas tax funds.
When they were designated for improving highways they would some
times be even used for private industrial streets and we had some
hearings on that score.
99
Sankary: I was also on the Interim Assembly Subcommittee on Industrial Safety
and that considered changes in the laws which now OSHA [Occupation,
Safety, and Health Administration] in the United States government is
doing.
Then, although San Diego State University is in my district,
at that time it was a state college and there were less than a
million people in San Diego. An expansion of the University of
California into the San Diego area with a new scientific orientation
for the campus was being sought. This was a big issue to face
because the then state college proponents didn't want the university
to come here and they seemed very concerned about that. Yet the
university campus was, as you know, eventually approved and built
and is a tremendous asset to San Diego.
I took the position that I was loyal to San Diego State. Later
making the consensus unanimous, I made a few enemies I suppose by so
doing in the belief that maybe there wasn't enough population or
enough money to keep expanding the University of California system
at that time. The population at San Diego State wasn't 35,000
like it is now. I don't recall how big it was but it was a small
school. Now I am delighted that there is a great university campus
here, in La Jolla.
Another problem that arose had to do with how we all stood on
the desegregation issue. I co-authored a resolution memorializing
the Congress of the United States to uphold a decision that the
Supreme Court had made concerning desegregation that year.
There were also pressures on us to support new state buildings,
and construction of the state building in San Diego was approved
during my session. In some meetings the pressures involved matters
of compulsory arbitration that some contractors would submit and
which some of the unions desired to be eliminated. No-strike
legislation in contracting projects for the state by private
contractors, was an issue. There were also bills that I supported
which required the projects be advertised and separate bids by
various contractors be obtained.
[end tape 5, side A; begin tape 5, side B]
Sankary: I supported one bill where local architects would be given
opportunity to work on public buildings rather than calling in
other architects from other cities, or even other states to work on
our public buildings in San Diego. This was at the request of our
architectural society.
We had an issue come before us that I supported to allow the
agricultural interests to graze their cattle on state lands and state
parks where no injury would be done to the land. It would help the
cattle farmers.
(First of two pages)
99a
'N
' •••; ' r- A .•••*-*:•
I
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1956 FIRST EXTRAORDINARY SESSION
Assembly Joint Resolution
No. 7
C
Introduced by Mrs. Sankary, Messrs. Kilpatrick. Chapel, Meyers,
Allen, Beaver, Bee. Cunningham, Miss Donahoe, Messrs. Thomas J.
Doyle, Elliott, Gaffney, Samuel R. Geddes, Hawkins, Henderson,
Johnson, Elocksiem, Maloney, Marsh, MacBride, McFall, McMillan,
Miller, MuxrneLL, Nielsen, Nisbet, O'Connell, Porter, Rumford, and
Schrade
March 21, 1956
•REFERRED TO COM SUTTEE ON BTJLES
Assembly Joint Resolution A*0. 7 — Relative to permitting recip
ients of aid to the aged to earn fifty dollars ($50) per month
in addition to such aid.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
g
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
WHEREAS, In 1950 l£e Congress of the United States
amended the Social Security Law to provide "that the first fifty
dollars ($50) per month of income earned by a blind person
shall be disregarded in computing aid to such person, thereby
allowing a blind person to earn this amount in addition to his
aid ; and
"WHEREAS, Legislation Is presently before the Congress pf
the .United States which would extend this same benefit to
recipients of aid to the aged ; and
WHEREAS,. It is the belief of the Legislature of the State of
California that there is an abundance of odd Jobs and tem-
porary employment in this State that could be capably filled
by aged persons ; .and
WHEREAS, The present public assistance program discour-
ages these aged persons from seeking sudb. employment by re-
quiring that any and all earnings be deducted from their aid ;
now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of Cali-
fornia, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to
enact such legislation as is necessary to permit recipients of
-Aid to the aged to earn fifty dollars ($50) a month, which
Corrected S-23-56
*. -...-.- .
>.i :.*:..:
• .f V y-Vt&S .•{. / •-.".":•;>•-;
i.i.^i.^Ai-'.fc'.W.- tJ^.vKtjif'Hf* •»£
1. . v< 1
t •' •
(First of two pages) 99b
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1955 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 2215
Introduced by Mr. Masterson, Mrs. Sankary, Messrs. Elliott,
and Hawkins
January 19, 1955
REFERRED TO COillTITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REAPPORTIONJIENT
An act to add Chapter 6 to Division 7 of the Elections Code,
relating to state contributions for political campaigns.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 6 is added to Division 7 of the Elec-
2 tions Code, to read :
3
4 CHAPTER 6. STATE CONTRIBUTIONS
5
6 5400. The Legislature herebj- declares that the costs of j
7 conducting political campaigns are legitimate public expenses;
8 that the cost of campaigning places an undue premium on
9 private wealth or access to private -wealth as a primary cri-
10 terion for the judging of candidates; that the tremendous cost
11 of election campaigning gives an undue advantage to a party
12 or candidate receiving large contributions from a limited eco- i
13 nomic group, thus placing an undue emphasis on money in our
14 free elections that can ultimately spell disaster to our demo-
15 eratic processes; that this continuing trend of constantly in-
1G creasing campaign costs can only be offset by the use of public
17 funds; that the use of public funds for the purpose set forth
18 in this chapter is the best, most practical and economical Tvay
19 for all registered voters to contribute to the political party of
20 their choice.
21 5401. During the mouth of July of every even-numbered
22 year the Secretary of State shall 'certify to the State Con-
23 troller the number of persons registered as affiliated vdth each
24. political party as of January 1st of that year throughout the
25 State and in each county within the State.
•
(First of two pages) 99c
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1955 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL - . No. 18
\ Introduced by Messrs. Hegland, Luckel, Morris, Bonelli, Levering,
McGee, Mrs. Sankary, and Mr. Schrade
1
January 4, 1955
P.EFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMY
An act to add Chapter 7, comprising Sections 11575 to 11581,
inclusive, to Part 1, Division 3, Title 2 of the Government
Code, relating to meetings of state agencies.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 7, comprising Sections 11575 to 11581,
2 inclusive, is added to Part 1, Division 3, Title 2 of the Govern-
3 meat Code, to read :
4
5 CHAPTER 7. MEETINGS
6
7 11575. As used in this chapter, "state agency" means
8 every board, commission, agency, or axithority of the State
9 authorised to adopt any resolution, rule, regulation, order, or
10 directive governing its conduct or for the enforcement of the
11 powers and duties conferred upon it by law.
12 11576. All meetings, regular and special, of any such state
13 agency are hereby declared to be public meetings, open to the
14 public at all times, except as otherwise provided in this
15 chapter.
16 11577. The state agency shall provide, by resolution, by-
17 laws, or by whatever other rule is required for the conduct of
18 business by that body, the time for holding regular meetings.
19 If at any time any regular meeting falls on a holiday, such
20 regular meeting shall be held on the next business day. If, by
21 reason of fire, flood, earthquake or other emergency, it shall be
22 unsafe to meet in the place designated, the meetings may be
23 held tor the duration of the emergency at such place as is
24 designated by the presiding officer of the state agency. .
99d
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1955 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1763
•
Introduced by Mr. Lnckel, Mrs. Sankary, and Mr. Morris
January 18, 1955
KEFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
An act to amend Section 11713 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to probation for narcotics offenders.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION- 1. Section 11713 of the Health and Safety Code
2 is amended to read:
j 11713. Any person convicted under this division for trans- .
4 porting, selling, furnishing, administering, or giving away, or
5 offering to transport, sell, furnish, administer, or give away,
g any narcotic, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county
7 jail for not more than one year, or in the state prison for not
S more than 15 years.
f) If such a person has been previously convicted of any offense
10 described in this division or has been previously convicted of
11 any offense under the laws of any other state or of the United
12 States which if committed in this State would have been pun-
1:] ishable as an offense described in this division, the previous
14 conviction shall be charged in the indictment or information
15 and if found to be true by the jury, upon a jury trial, or if
If, found to be true by the court, upon a court trial, or is admitted
17 by the defendant, he shall be imprisoned in a state prison for
IS not less than five years nor more than 25 years.
in Any person convicted tinder this division for transporting,
20 selling, furbishing, administering, or giving aicay, or offering
21 to transport, sell, furnish, administer, or give away, any nar-
22 cotic shall not be granted probation by the trial court, nor shall
23 the execution of the sentence imposed upon such person be
24 suspended l>y the court.
(First of two pages) 99e
*
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1955 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1102
Introduced by Mrs. Sankary and Mr. Masterson
January 14, 1955 /
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE OX SOCIAL WELFARE
An act to amend Section 222-1 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to the prosecution of relatives of applicants
for or recipients of aid to the aged.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 ,SECTION 1. Section 2224 of "the Welfare and Institutions
2 Code is amended to read:
3 222-1. The board of supervisors or an agent designated by
4 the board shall determine if the applicant or recipient of aid
5 has within this State a spouse or adult child responsible to
6 contribute to the support of the applicant or recipient of aid
7 pursuant to the Relatives' Contribution Scale of Section 2181.
8 A form shall be sent to the relative requiring the information
9 essential to the determination of the relative's liability to sup-
10 port under said scale.
13 Upon request the relative shall file such statement within 10
12 days if living in the county, or within 30 days if living else-
13 where in the State; provided, however, that the granting or
14 continued receipt of aid shall not be contingent upon the filing
15 of such statement by such spouse or adult child.
16 If the person receiving aid has within the State a spouse or
17 adult child found by the board of supervisors or its authorized
18 representative pecuniarily able to support said person, the
19 board of supervisors shall request the district attorney or other
20 civil legal officer of the county granting such aid to proceed
21 against such kindred in the order of their responsibility to
22 support. Upon such demand, the district attorney or other
23 civil legal officer of the county granting such aid sbfttt may ,
24 on behalf of said county, maintain an action, in the superior
25 court of the county granting such aid, against said relative, in
. i
99f
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1955 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 505
Introduced by Mrs. Sankary, Messrs. Schrade, Hegland, and Luckel
.
January 11, 1955
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
An act to add Section 1230 to the Government Code, relating
to the compensation of officers injured in line of duty.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 1230 is added to the Government Code,
2 to read :
3 1230. Any law enforcement officer, or safety officer, or po-
4 lice officer injured in line of duty shall be entitled to receive
5 from the State or political subdivision by which lie is employed
6 his salary in full for the period of his disability, not to ex-
7 ceed one year after his injury, in lieu of any other payment
8 for siu;h period provided by law. In the event of his death,
9 his di-pendents, as determined pursuant to Article 3, Chapter
10 2, Part 1, Division 4 of the Labor Code, shall receive eighteen
11 monthly payments, each of whicli shall be three-quarters (3)
12 of one-twelfth (Via) of his annual compensation. The compen-
18 satiou herein provided for shall be in addition to any other
14 benefits to which the officer or his dependents may be entitled
.In by reason of private insurance, contracts or otherwise.
O
(First of two pages) 99g
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1955 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 931
Introduced by Mrs. Sankary and Mr. Luckel
January 13, 1955
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION
An act to amend Sections 6006 and 6359 of, and to repeal Sec
tion 6363 of, the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to the
exemption of food products from sales and use taxation.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows: •
1 SECTION 1. Section 6006 of the Revenue and Taxation Code
2 is amended to read :
3 G006. "Sale" means and includes:
4 (a) Any transfer of title or possession, exchange, barter,
5 lease, or rental, conditional or otherwise, in any manner or by
6 any means whatsoever, of tangible personal property for a
7 consideration. "Transfer of possession," "lease," or "rental"
8 includes only transactions found by the board to be in lieu of
9 a transfer of title, exchange, or barter.
10 (b) The producing, fabricating, processing, printing, or im-
11 printing of tangible personal property for a consideration for
12 consumers who furnish either' directly or indirectly the
13 materials used in the producing, fabricating, processing, print-
14 ing, or imprinting.
15 (c) The furnishing and distributing of tangible personal
16 property for a consideration by social clubs and fraternal
17 organizations to their members or others.
18 • (d) The furnishing, preparing, or serving for a consider-
19 ation of food, moab, w drinks.
20 (e) A transaction whereby the possession of property is
21 transferred but the seller retains the title as security for the
22 payment of the price.
(First of two pages) 99h
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1955 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 291
Introduced by Mrs. Sankary, Messrs. Morris, Luckel, and Schrade
January 6, 1955
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE OX REVENUE AND TAXATION
An act to amend Section €359 of, and to add Sections 6369,
6370, 6370.1 and 6370.2 to, the Revenue and Taxation Code,
relating to sales and use taxes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION- 1. Section 6359 of the Revenue and Taxation
2 Code is amended to read:
3 6359. There are exempt eel from the taxes imposed by this
4 part the gross receipts from the sale of and the storage, use,
5 or other consumption in this State of food products for hu-
6 man consumption.
7 "Food products" include cereals and cereal products, milk
8 and milk products, oleomargarine, meat and meat products,
9 fish and fish products, eggs and egg products, vegetables arid
10 vegetable products, fruit and fruit products, spices and salt,
11 sugar and sugar products other than candy and confectionery,
12 coffee and coffee substitutes, tea, cocoa aud cocoa products
13 other than candy and confectionery.
14 "Food products" do not include spirituous, malt or vinous
15 liquors, soft drinks, sodas, or beverages such as are ordinarily
16 dispensed at bars and soda fountains or in connection there-
17 with, medif.'lnoii, tonics, and preparations in liquid, powdered,
18 granular, tablet, capsule, lozenge, and pill form sold as die-
19 tary supplements or adjuncts.
20 "Food products" also do not include meals served on or off
21 the premises of the retailer or drinks or foods furnished, pre-
22 pared, or served for consumption at tables, chairs, or counters
23 or from trays, glasses, dishes, or other tableware provided by
24 the retailer.
100
Sankary: It appears that I also lent my name to and supported wholeheartedly
all the bills, and there were a great many during this session, on
narcotics. Apparently, drug addiction was beginning at that time,
not to the extent that it is now, but we had an awful lot of legisla
tion on that subject.
Now, a great number, a mishmash of bills just to clarify
language in various codes which someone would present to me and
which I carried merely making laws more definitive or clear.
Here also I run across increase of salaries for court reporters;
truck weights and other highway problems; construction of intersec
tions, and traffic lights and so forth. Also, I was co-author of
bills for compensation of police and fire officers, and sheriffs
and their employees, and inspectors and investigators and detectives,
when injured in the course of their employment or service. There
were bills having to do with liens for medical and hospital and
burial and living expenses to be liened against the amount to be
paid under workman's compensation.
There were also quite a few bills that had to do with hit and
run, or the operation of vehicles, and throwing trash out of cars.
Many of these things were mine (presented to me to handle) because
of the various committees I was on, i.e. transportation and commerce.
Changes, for example, in the insurance code because I was on the
Finance and Insurance Committee — these changes having to do with
how policies should read or how insurance companies should notify
policy holders of premiums due and so forth.
I have run across a couple of my resolutions, one of them
commending Maureen Connolly because at that time she was bringing
renown to our city. I also had a resolution which was a concurrent
resolution honoring and commending my predecessor Kathryn Niehouse —
Resolution Number Four. I must say that this lady was nice to me
any time I called on her in my campaigns.
Legislation Related to Women
Sankary: I want to talk about some women's bills that I spoke on and fought
for, even if unsuccessfully. Things would come either before a
committee that I was on or the whole assembly floor, and I would —
shy though I was — jump up and talk about them. One was a bill that
someone had put in which would require the Civil Service Commission
to make separate lists of eligible men and women who were applying
for a job. I talked and killed it as discriminatory — discriminatory
and unfair. When this one came before the Judiciary Committee they
lOOa
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1955 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 3046
Introduced by Mrs. Sankary
January 21, 1955
*
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE OX SOCIAL WELFARE
An act to amend Section 2161 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, reJiting to the residence of an applicant for or recipi
ent of aid to the aged.
Tlie people of the State of California do enact as folloivs:
1 SECTION 1. Section 2161 of the Welfare and Institutions
2 Code is amended to read :
3 2161. For the purposes of this chapter neither the domicile
4 nor residence of the htisband shall be deemed to be the domicile
5 or residence of the wife if they are living separate and apart
6 and in such case each may have a separate domicile or resi-
7 clence dependent upon proof of the fact and not upon legal
8 presumptions. An applicant for or recipient of aid under this
9 chapter shall not lose her residence lecause of marriage.
lOOb
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1955 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 25
f Introduced by Messrs. Chapel, Munnell, Miller, Conrad, Allen, Bee,
Bonelli, Brown, Cunningham, Dahl, Mrs. Davis, Miss Donahoe,
Messrs. Donald D. Doyle, Thomas J. Doyle, Fleury, Samuel R.
Geddes, Grant, Henderson, Hobbie, Kilpatrick, Lindsay, Masterson,
McFall, Morris, Patterson, Rees, Rumford, and Mrs. Sankary
• f - »
January 10, 1955
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES
Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 35 — Relative to revision
of the Labor Code provisions relating to the employment of
women.
S, There exists in the Labor Code, as the result of
2 piecemeal amendments to very old laws, inequities and incou-
3 sisteucies in the provisions relating to \vomen in the employ-
4 mcnt field ; and
5 AVliEREAS, It is felt that so many changes are necessary iu
6 order to bring the law of this State relating to the regulation
7 of tho working conditions of women into harmony with modern '
S conditions, that the California Law Revision Commission
9 should undertake the task of accomplishing it; now, therefore,
10 be it
11 Re&olrctl by tlie Assembly of the State of California, the
12 Senate thereof concurring, That the California Law Revision
13 Commission is authorized and directed to study and analyze
14 the provisions of law above referred to and to prepare a draft
15 of a revision of the pertinent Labor Code sections in order to
16 bring the laws relating to women in the employment field into
17 harmony with modern conditions; and be it further
18 Resolved, That the California Law Revision Commission
19 shall submit its report and draft of proposed legislation to the
20 Legislature not later than the tenth day of the 1957 Regular
21 Session of the Legislature.
4
4
lOOc
May 16, 1955
Donna Streed, President
Mission' Bay Business & Professional
Women's Club
30V7 Union Street
San Diego 1, California
Re: A.B. ^98 - "the woman's bill"
Dear Friend:
I value letters of suggestions and advice from my county and
will always strive to accomplish what is best for San Diego
County. My second and equally great interest here in the
legislature is to promote and guard the welfare of women, of
whom there are approximately 7 million in California. I
believe of the three women in the State Legislature, I am
the only one who is making this a primary object. Miss
Donahoe and Mrs. Davis are experts and greatly respected in
other fields and sufficiently occupied thereby to do little
more than back me up in my various battles for women here
in our promulgation of laws in Sacramento.
The above captioned bill, A.B. ^98, regarding equal pay for
equal work, was vociferously opposed in Committee by labor,
management, and banking institutions. The effort I exerted
stemmed from a belief and desire that women, who are often
the sole support of their family, should receive the same
pay as a man, if doing the same work. Almost single-handedly
I managed to get it out "do pass".
Newspapers in San Diego, in what appears to be a political
conspiracy, are giving me practically a blackout; so people
there never know what I may be accomplishing here. Yet on
this matter, as on many others, I make newspaper copy all
over the State, and it is not even mentioned in my own
county! Hence this letter, so at least you may know of my
efforts up here.
A copy of the bill is enclosed.
Sincerely,
End..
WS:bg WANDA SANKARY
cc: To All Women's Clubs in
San Diego County
srtc.
101
Sankary: voted on it, and then reversed themselves and defeated it unanimously,
when I said, "This would mean that even though a woman had rated
higher on the examination than any of the men, she would be relegated
to the top of a list that would be thrown in the wastebasket, nine
times out of ten, because of a traditional prejudice against women
in the employment field."
I was also the backer of a measure providing equal pay for
equal work and my Industrial Relations Committee passed it. I
remember that heated discussion when the employers' representatives,
and labor, came before us. I said, "Women work a full day in the
office, then come home and do the housework and iron clothes while
the husband watches television." A spokesman for an employer's
group said, "If I were a woman I would recognize that there are
certain differences," to which I said, "Thank God for those
differences." [Laughs]
I lost in a battle on the main floor on a bill that came up
that said a wife who unjustifiably leaves her husband shall not be
entitled to any of his earnings during her absence, and that the
husband should have the same right. In that fight I said that the
bill is unfair because the husband is usually in control of family
finances and in the habit of concealing property and money, and
during domestic troubles it would let him steal it to his heart's
content. I said it's not fair and that I'm speaking as one of the
seven million women in California. When I sat down the assembly
applauded me, but still voted for the bill. The other two assembly
women voted with me. [Laughs]
Then a newspaper article came out and said that I was not for
equal rights for men. [Laughs] I wouldn't give the husbands an
even break. The reason for that is obvious because at that time
there weren't that many married women working as there are now and
so the men were in charge of the finances. So if the husband left
his wife or she felt forced to leave him I didn't feel he should have
any right to her share of the community property — even though it's
his earnings.
There was a bill which was an amendment to section 2161 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code which would not allow women who married
an out-of -stater to be deprived of their legal California residence
affecting their pensions, and so forth. It did pass and provides
that the law that used to say the residence of the husband auto
matically becomes the residence of the wife would not apply to
women pensioners and women in other positions of that kind.
102
Concern for the "Little People"
Sankary: Generally I was not only going to bat for women but for any of the
other minorities. Even though I was sitting among seasoned politi
cians and got nowhere I would take up the gauntlet.
I have gone through a lot of bills that I had supported and
lent my name to and picked out a few that seem a little more
significant than the others.
Many in this great stack of bills have to do with extending
aid to large segments of the community — social security provisions,
unemployment compensation, workmen's comp and so forth; or increasing
the amount of aid to the blind or to the aged. The large number of
bills in which I was personally and laboriously involved show that
so much of what I was accused of in the subsequent campaign wasn't
true because I conscientiously supported all good things for this
state, in my judgement then and now.
One point I want to make is that I had been placed on five
regular and two interim committees — no one in the assembly had
more committees than I, and I had been placed on more than any
freshman had been, either preceding or after me. During this
session there were 6,000 bills put in and with all the additional
committees that I was on, I was putting in longer hours than others.
I think there was also an extraordinary session called for us after
this one ended.
The copies of these bills will also show who the other people
were and what they stood for as well as what positions I took. This
is interesting because many of these people have gone on to become
prominent in the nation and it will give an insight on their social
and political views at that period.
The Women in the Legislature
Sankary: As far as how I as a woman operated differently from other members
who were men, I didn't; and from what I observed of the two other
women, they were also acting very independently, and thought for
themsleves, and did an exceptional job — far better than many of
the men in the assembly. We were not treated, I don't think, in any
way that was uncomplimentary or derogatory. We were accepted and we
interacted well with the men and with each other. I can't say that
we were any less able physically to stand stress and fatigue either.
102a
Sacramento Bee
Page 16
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 1955
Assemblywoman Believes Her
Sex Is Better For Lgislature
By Rorence Barton Smith
Assemblywoman Wanda Sankary (D) of San Diego County,
who will complete her first legislative session tomorrow, is of
the opinion the legislature is a better place for women to serve
than men. "Women," she reasons, "are more conscientious and
less tempted by personal gain
than are men. In addition, the
family suffers no financial
strain when the woman is away
If a business is involved, it
would have to close when the
man is away. In my case, my
husband operates our law office
lor the three months I am in
the capital."
Mrs. Sankary disagrees that
family ties are weakened if the
mother is away.
"I fly home every weekend to
be with my family and have
not missed a single weekend
.since I have been here. I hate
traveling so I do it the quickest
way — by air.
"I love to garden and cook
and spend most of my leisure
time with these avocations., It
. is true my constituents are om
nipreserit on weekends but I
have time for a wonderful fanv
ily life.",
Mrs. Sankary's family in
eludes her husband, her 7
month old son, Timothy, her
mother and a housekeeper. A
new member will arrive in July
when they adopt a baby to be
born then. All are hoping for a
girl.
The Sankarys want a large
•family, four or five children but
want them closer together than
nature and legislative assem
blies will allow so they plan to
adopt them in between having
their own.
Her strongest personal reac
tion to her first session is the
respect and credit she and all
assembly members have for As
semblywomen Dorothy M. Don-
ahoe of Kern County and
Pauline Davis of Plumas
Assemblywoman
Wanda Sankary
Bee Photo
"Both are tremendously com
petent," she praised, "and are
experts in their fields of educa
tion and water legislation, re
spectively. They are outstand
ing speakers and know every
facet of subjects they present.
They command complete atten
tion from every man in the as
sembly.
"It is a long haul, to acquire
that overall respect, and I am
not at all sure I can do it."
The neophyte politician be
lieves that politics is similar to
business in that it is necessary
to maintain respect, confidence
and trust.
"One slip," she says, "can ruin
a good reputation which took
a long time to build. I under
stand that pressures can cause
slips but I will vote my o%vn
convictions rather than poli
tics."
Like her feminine colleagues,
Mrs. Sankary is planning to es
tablish herself in some field.
She admits she argues loud and
long against legislation detri
mental to women and children
and wants to serve on commit
tees studying these issues. She
is most interested right now in
the problem of confining chil
dren in jails.
The attractive assemblywom
an and attorney served this:
year as vice chairman of the so-(!
cial welfare committee and as![
a member of finance and insur-1;
ance, industrial relations, judi-;?
ciary, and transportation and!*
commerce committees.
103
Sankary: It happened that none of the three women in the assembly at the time
that I was there were very aggressive women. We were quiet but firm.
I know in my case I was more concerned about my family than my career,
and somewhat inhibited because I was new. I didn't do anything to
further my career. It was always secondary, if there was a choice.
This may not be true of them however.
The dedication to the job of the other two women impressed me
highly. One was single — Dorothy Donahoe — and the other one a widow,
I think without a family. Mrs. Davis 's career was her whole life
and she worked impressively and effectively. They didn't however
seem to be the kind that would have sacrificed anyone else to their
career if they had had family or other obligations. In other words,
they were low-key women too.
Certainly when I regard Mrs. Niehouse and her personality, she
had never been an aggressive, strident voice either, but a pleasant,
kind, sincere person who was only interested in doing her job.
I had known a lot of aggressive, even unscrupulous women in the
legal profession. But I personally didn't run across that kind
among the elected women when I was in office.
There were some women that were involved in political campaigns
that simply turned me off. Rather than sticking to issues, they
seemed too aggressive and unpleasant.
I had run-ins with two women during my first campaign when I
was a novice, women who wanted to work on my campaign but whose
approach was different from mine. I seemed to make enemies of them
by refusing their assistance because it just didn't jive with the
way I did things. I think it is a serious mistake on the part of
a woman who is ambitious and wants to get ahead to become aggressive
or extremist. I just recoiled from that instinctively then and now.
It appeared to me in the assembly that the members who were at
odds with each other because of issues or personalities, were much
more concerned with the issue than with the sex of their opponent.
Their only argument with us that I was aware of was on an issue.
Whereas in law school I had been told that women shouldn't be in a
man's field and should stay at home and so forth, I don't recall
ever hearing that kind of a statement from anyone in the legislature
or in politics except from my own campaign opponent. I never got
the feeling that someone expected me to assume "a female role."
I don't recall anyone making passes at me while I was in politics.
I don't think I appealed to voters because I was a woman, or because
I was pretty, or anything of that nature. I think it was because of
what I said and what issues I discussed openly, calmly, and intelli
gently on television and wherever.
104
A Brief Summary of the Legislative Experience
Sankary: I had never been involved in politics before I became a candidate
and I only agreed to do things both in the campaigns and in office
that appeared interesting, worthwhile, and fair, not with a view of
what I was going to gain from it or for notoriety. I didn't have
any far-distant view, which was my mistake perhaps. But I never
used the office to try to further my own interests. And I'm proud
that I never consciously hurt anyone to gain anything for myself.
I definitely felt and still feel that there were more failures
than accomplishments by the legislature during my term of office.
There was much disappointment in legislation that didn't pass or
that was vetoed. I had a feeling that I was helpless, as only a
very small cog, in accomplishing some of the things that needed to
be done. It's a frustrating feeling to see how often men are
concerned only with what they get from it rather than what they
should give.
In my own instance also, I warm to the memory that I was often
told by experienced, respected and high minded legislators that I
had handled myself very well. That if I wanted to, I could go
"as far" as I wanted to. There is that feeling of satisfaction and
pride which will shine inside me for my lifetime. Whatever came
and whatever will come I try to yield to that philosophy expressed
best in a well worn Arabic phrase, "in sha'a Allah" which translates,
"It's in the hands of the gods."
[End interview]
Transcribers: Rebecca Klatch, Michelle Stafford
Final Typist: Teresa Allen
105
AFTERWORD
In reflecting on this endeavor, this feeble effort at revealing a
personality, I feel a great dissatisfaction. First, because I didn't
achieve my potential; I didn't secure more than a brush with immortality,
my life desire. I was qualified mentally to achieve it, but perhaps not
emotionally.
My life appears to have been deliberately limited, or reduced, to subor
dinating my abilities and myself to someone else, because of a need to be
with loved ones. This sensitivity about going off alone and chasing
opportunities may be a combination of my being a sentimental Pole, born a
Capricorn, and the trauma of the sudden death of Allen, my beloved bridegoom.
In any event, in spite of great opportunities, it was no more than a brief
blooming of a brave flower in the forest.
I am dissatisfied secondly, because my life in this short memoir has
been so poorly portrayed. For this I apologize. This compilation was made
at a time of the greatest trauma, the most difficult period in all my life,
past and future, I'm sure. To me, the divorce is most painful, excruciatingly
painful. I now understand Medea, and I marvel at Euripides, a man, eons ago,
fathoming so well a woman's feelings. A second stressful continuing crisis
compounded and surrounded the other: Ronnie, my precious son was using
horrendous drugs, alcohol, and all other possible forms of self destruction.
Now, my nightmares, instead of being war and Allen's plane, were of gentle
Ronnie, softly playing his guitar, alone and lost, his beautiful, sensitive
face so sad. At this writing there are signs of change and hope. Ron's
story, however, is not ready to be told. He hasn't reached a plateau show
ing what direction his life will finally take. For my own sanity we have
parted. I think we both knew the last few days, that we would soon be
parting for a long time. He came in and watched me clean off the old leaves
from a plant, followed me around the house as I made work, silent. I miss
him.
Yet a third vicissitude imposed itself simultaneously — my retirement.
For the first time since I was eleven, I wasn't working. I stayed in the
house with no fulfilling tasks or obligations. I couldn't go to the office
because we were finished — Morrie and I — and I couldn't find another office
that seemed appealing, to compete against my own firm. The sudden inactivity
was a drag. Life had lost its meaning.
Thus this oral history was undertaken with a view from the depths of
my life. I had had five years of heart-shredding pain. I know that I have
always felt more deeply than others (Capricorn Polish woman) , but my general
disposition is positive and happy. By nature I love gaiety, people,
children, music, beautiful scenery, flowers, birds, ballet. I demand that
106
words be gentle; I have a revulsion for ugly conflicts. (For years I felt
physically ill every time I read anything about Richard Nixon. I even
composed a book entitled "Why Not Nixon," a saga of evil, long before his
last administration.)
Now, however, I feel a new era approaching. Forty more years to live
and 1 don't intend to ruminate. I'm not the kind that stagnates; I want no
self centered, hedonistic, meaningless pursuits. I'm alone now. I want to
move on to great new things. I can and will follow that star whither it goes.
Wanda Sankary
February, 1979
San Diego, California
107
Wanda Sankary — index
agriculture:
farm labor, 13-14
homesteading, 1-8
Banks, Bebe, 39
Bradley, Clark, 70
Brady, Bernard, 70
Brown, Edmund G. , Jr. (Jerry), 34-35
Brown, Edmund G. , Sr. (Pat), 90
Brown, Ralph, 56
Caldecott, Thomas W. , 70
California assembly, 53-104
California Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, 61-62, 68
California Medical Association, 58-59
California Water Project, 81-82. See also seawater conversion plant,
San Diego, Ca.
Chapel, Charles E., 61-62
Coker, John, 35
Conte, Bill and Dorothy, 39-40
Crawford, George, 43, 68, 73, 90-92
Davis, Pauline, 54, 56, 102-103
death penalty, 78
Democratic party (California) :
appointments to State Central Committee, 34-35
in San Diego County, 41
Dickey, Randal, 70
Dolwig, Richard, 70
Donahoe, Dorothy, 54, 56, 102-103
election campaign financing, 33, 69
election campaign methods, 39-41, 91-92
election campaigns, state & national:
California assembly, 1954, 32-41, 85-87
California assembly, 1956, 43-45, 67-68, 73, 89-93, 96-97
Equal Rights Amendment, 88
Farb, Harry, 34-35
Farris, Sue, 39
Fleury, Gordon, 70
108
Geddes, Ernest, 70
tiegland, Sheridan, ix, 54-55
insurance, legislation on, 94
judiciary, legislation on, 95-97
Knight, Goodwin, 74-75
Kraft, Fred H. , 57, 69
Lanterman, Frank, 60, 63
Latimer, Leo, 39
Levering, Harold K. , 61
Lincoln, Luther, 53-55
lobbyists, 42, 55-69, 75, 80, 89, 97
Luckel, Frank, 53-54
Masterson, S.C., 70-71
McFall, John, 62-63, 66, 70
McGee, Patrick D. , 70
MacMillan, Lester, 71
media:
newspapers, 42, 45, 65, 73-76, 84, 97-98
violence in, 74-76
medical care, prepaid, 57-59
Miller, Allen, 62-63
Morris, Delbert, 74-76
Munnell, William, 53, 62-63
Negroes, 44, 90
Niehouse, Kathryn, 37, 91-92, 100, 103
Peterson, Fred, 39
sales tax, legislation on, 79-80
San Diego Tribune, 42, 45
San Diego Union, 42
109
Sankary, Wanda
family: parents, brothers and sisters, 1-17, 23; children, 32, 36-42,
44-50, 87-88; marriages, Allen Young, 20, 22-24; Morris Sankary, x-xi,
xiii, 22, 28-31, 33-34, 36, 45-47, 50-52, 92-93
education: through high school, 5, 8-9, 14, 16-19; college and law school,
20-22, 25-29
business/employment experiences, 15, 18-19, 20-22, 24-25, 27, 30
as assemblywoman, ix, xiii, 53-104
as attorney, vii, x-xi, xiii, 29-31, 35, 44-47, 86-88, 90-91
self evaluation, 14, 27-28, 42-43, 56, 59, 66-67, 83, 87-88, 91, 104-106
Schrade, Jack, 54-55
seawater conversion plant, San Diego, 59-60, 97-98
Shell, Joe, 90, 96
Smith, H. Allen, 53-55, 63, 70
Swing, PHil, 25
Teawell, Bill, 40
Todd, O.W. , Jr. , 44
tuberculosis, treatment of, 20-22
University of California, San Diego, 99
Unruh, Jesse, 63, 69
veterans' housing scandal, San Diego, 33-34
violence in the media, legislation on, 74-75
Weinberger, Caspar, 70
welfare, legislation on, 95, 98
Wilson, Charles, 63-64
women :
expectations for, 25-27, 87-88
in agriculture, 3, 6
in law school, 26, 103
legislation on, xiii, 61-62, 100-101
women in politics:
as candidates, xii, 32-41
attitudes towards, 54, 59-60, 102-104
in government, 53-93, 102-104
Malca Chall
Graduated from Reed College in 19^2 with a B.A.
degree, and from the State University of Iowa in
19^3 with an M.A. degree in Political Science.
Wage Rate Analyst with the Twelfth Regional War
Labor Board, 19^3-19^5, specializing in agricul
ture and services. Research and writing in the
New York public relations firm of Edward L.
Bernays, 19^*6-19^7, and research and statistics
for the Oakland Area Community Chest and Council
of Social Agencies 19^8-1951.
Active in community affairs as a director and
past president of the League of Women Voters of
the Hayward Area specializing in state and local
government ; on county-wide committees in the
field of mental health; on election campaign
committees for school tax and bond measures, and
candidates for school board and state legislature,
Employed in 196? by the Regional Oral History
Office interviewing in fields of agriculture and
water resources, Jewish Community history, and
women leaders in civic affairs and politics.
16 2515
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